NOTE: THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE’S SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.

The ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) selects Bohol as the host for its 69th meeting this year.

Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado announced on his social media that the province will host the annual meeting in March this year, which he described as a “great opportunity” to showcase Bohol internationally.

Bohol’s provincial government met with Undersecretary Rowel Barba, the Director-General of Intellectual Property of the Philippines (IPOPHL), on Friday, January 22, to announce the selection and to formally make coordinations for the upcoming event.

Bohol expects to host delegates from the ASEAN region, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual is expected to attend this year’s AWGIPC meeting. IPOPHL is an attached agency of DTI. 

Joining Governor Aumentado, as part of the coordinating team, are Provincial Administrator Asteria Caberte, Special Project Head Metodio Maraguinot Jr., and Center for Culture and Arts Development Head Atty. Filipina Piollo. 

The AWGIPC meeting is held yearly since its establishment in 1996, where representatives from each of the ASEAN IP offices and the sectoral group responsible for IP issues in the region meet to discuss intellectual property rights in Southeast Asia and improve regional policies relating to it.