5 things you didn’t know Filipinos designed, invented

MANILA, Philippines — For many years, Filipinos believed that it was their fellowmen who invented the fluorescent lamp, the Moon Buggy and yoyo, and these were even taught in schools or printed in textbooks.

Since then, it has been known that German physicist Edmund Germer, and not Filipino electrician Agapito Flores, who invented the fluorescent lamp; Filipino engineer Eduardo San Juan did submit a Moon Buggy design to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) but it was not selected to become the final lunar rover design; and Filipino-American yoyo maker Pedro Flores patented an innovation of the modern yoyo, but it was actually the ancient Greeks who invented it. 

But don’t fret. 

Be proud! At the recent opening of “Art x Design: A Special Reception of the 50 Years of Philippine Design and Beyond” exhibition in National Museum of Fine Arts, it was revealed that there are at least five things that Filipinos indeed designed and invented and have since been useful not only to Filipinos, but to humankind.

In 1970, Sofronio “Ronnie” H. Pasola Jr. invented the educational war game “Salpakan,” which has been produced as “Game of the Generals” by MindMasters Inc. in 1972.

More than just a game board, “Game of the Generals,” also called “GG,” “GOG” or “The Generals” commenced the 20th century fad for games that paved the way for the appreciation of video games, said the Design Center. 

Game of the Generals tests military-like skills with cumulative moves. Although its popularity declined with the ascendance of digital games, the board game remains to enjoy having clubs and a great following, where members meet for tournaments, just like in chess.

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Gualberto “Rachy” Cuna is the inventor of floral architecture, said the Design Center.

As arguably the country's only floral architect, Cuna is considered as among the most articulate and most celebrated Filipino decorators of special occasions who have elevated the florist and floral arrangement into an art form. 

According to Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA), the Philippines is the world's top exporter of abaca that supplies 85% of