BONTOC, Mountain Province – A solar-powered light trap for rice insect created by three students from Camalog National High School of Pinukpuk, Kalinga has won the Sibol Award-Student Creative Research for High School category of the 2019 Regional Invention Contest and Exhibits (RICE) recently held here.

The entry of Alice Bayle, Brent Altero, and Emmanuel Benzon – the eco-friendly physical light trap – is cheap, easy to fabricate, portable, durable, and easy to operate.

Two solar powered light traps attract the rice insects then a blower strike them down into a collection chamber where they will remain trapped.

Bayle, Altero, and Benzon were awarded with a certificate of recognition; P20,000; and the right to represent the Cordillera in the 2020 National Invention Contest and Exhibit (NICE) Sibol Award-High School category.

For the Sibol Award-Student Creative Research for College, the “Cognitime: Microcontroller-based reaction and movement time measuring device for the qualitative assessment of human cognitive function” entry of Saint Louis University students  Sundee Aniver P. Marquez, Charles Rex S. Tamayo, Jayves DJ Macuha, Harold Jim Bugtong, and Kurt Estocada was adjudged the regional winner.

Likha Award (Creative Research)-Government Funded category regional winner is the Cocoon Deflossing Machine invention of Norma Ramos, Espino Tiw-an, and Leonardo Dumalhin of the Benguet State University.

For the Likha Award-Private Funded category, the “Double load radial roller bearing” by Inoc Broncano of the University of Baguio won.

For the Outstanding Utility Model category, the regional winner is the Calamansi Peepling Cookies by Lynlyn Bawagan, Leah Bartolome, and Arsenia Bayongan of Kalinga State University.

Regional winners from each category will qualify as finalists for the NICE in 2020.

DOST-Cordillera Director Nancy Bantog thanked the provincial government of Mountain Province, the host school, other partner agencies/institutions, and all the participating entries for the successful staging of RICE 2019.

Bantog also called for a continuing partnership in bringing science for the people as a driver of inclusive development.

“Inventions should always be solutions to problems of the general public or for the industry among others and while there is a need there must be inventions. While there are users, you still have lots to do in coming up with new and improved things,” Bantog added.