Nation

Officials from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and the DILG symbolically lead the beginning of the construction of the National Virtual Training Center in Silang, Cavite. US EMABSSY CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA (February 11, 2023)—To enhance the capability of Philippine law enforcement personnel to respond to chemical security threats, the United States government is supporting the construction of the P130 million ($2.4 million) National Virtual Training Center (NVTC) in Silang town, Cavite province. Undersecretary Serafin Barretto Jr. of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for Public Safety said the pandemic paved the way for them to recognize the importance of the NVTC facility. "This facility will provide an instit...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO LOS BAÑOS, Laguna (December 16)—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture-Agri-Innovator Program (Searca-AIP), a short-term training program, is advocating for a human-centered approach combining "design thinking" as a mindset and "lean startup" as a methodology for developing agricultural innovations. According to Dr. Glenn Gregorio, Searca director, this program contributes to responding to an era of change when the vulnerabilities, uncertainties, complexities and ambiguities of a fast-evolving environment dictate the way agricultural challenges are appraised and addressed for agri-ventures and their innovations flourish in Agriculture 4.0. Gregorio noted that Searca-AIP, which will feature weekly sessions, was form...

OPS PHOTO MANILA (December 15)—President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. scored big in his meetings with various European companies, securing billions worth of investment pledges on Wednesday. The President, who is on the final day of his visit to Brussels for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (ASEAN-EU) commemorative summit, sat down with European companies Unilever, Ocea, Acciona, and SEMMARIS to discuss current investments and expansion plans in the Philippines. The chief executive has secured a P4.7 billion investment from multinational consumer goods company Unilever as the firm gears towards automating and digitalizing its operations in the Philippines. Unilever officials, led by its global business group president Matt Close, said the multibillion-peso i...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO LOS BAÑOS, Laguna (December 13)—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently launched a pioneering program on Transformational Agricultural Innovation Systems for the New Future (Trains) to provide innovative solutions to the rising challenges in agriculture and the environment. According to Searca Director Glenn Gregorio, there are 30 participants from various Southeast Asian (SEA) higher education institutions, government ministries and agencies, non-government and farmers' organizations, and private and civil society organizations who are involved in research and extension activities. Trains is a nine-week online training w...

Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources member institutions include the Institut Pertanian Bogor, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Kasetsart University, UPLB, UB, and Searca as regular members. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO LAGUNA (December 8)—The Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC) successfully offered the 6th UC Summer School at the Banyuwanggi Regency and Malang, Indonesia. According to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) headquartered at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), the 6th UC Summer School from November 13 to 17, 2022 was the first activity of th...

Headquartered on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna province, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture is one of the oldest among 26 specialist institutions of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO LAGUNA (December 6)—The 14th SyenSaya annual science festival of the Los Baños Science Community (LBSC) kicked off on Monday, December 5, to be highlighted by the Research and Development Awards that recognize outstanding researchers in LBSC and Youth Science Awards. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) will host the Awarding and Closing Ceremony of the 14th SyenSaya on Wednesday, December 7. A t...

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (December 5)—Aiming to expand the banana industry throughout the country by identifying the best producers, students from the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) in Manila visited Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), which is considered to have the potential in boosting the industry. The 5th year Bachelor of Science in Architecture students from TUP-Manila visited the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 2 (DA-RFO2) for their research that looks into the development of the banana industry in the region, according to DA-RFO2 Executive Director Narciso Edillo. They were Angelika Beatriz Buenaobra, Sheilla Marie Daluyo and Princess Sarah Ignas who conferred with Carol Albay, High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) regional focal person, rega...

MANILA (December 2)—President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday emphasized that the “Kadiwa ng Pasko” project is the “best Christmas gift” that the government can extend to the public amid the rising cost of some goods brought about by inflation. “It (Kadiwa) is the gift that keeps on giving,” Pres. Marcos said as he led the launch of the nationwide caravan in Quezon City. He is joined by Mayor Joy Belmonte, Vice-Mayor Gian Sotto, and other local and national government officials. The Kadiwa caravan rollout seeks to provide a market for local agricultural producers, while at the same time, giving the public access to affordable and high quality products. In his remarks, the President said he also wants the Kadiwa ng Pasko project to become a national program through tie-ups...

HEALTHY RELATIONS US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson (middle, left) hands over Point-of-Car HIV Viral Load Cartridges to Dr. Louisito Chua, Manila Councilor for Health, on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Also present during the ceremony were Sen. Ana Theresia ‘Risa’ Hontiveros, Michelle Lang-Alli, Ma. Carolina Vidal-Taino, Barangay 435 chairman Linensky Bacud, and other officials and representatives of the US government and the Department of Health. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO MANILA (December 2)—The United States government donated HIV viral load testing cartridges valued at P85 million ($1.5 million) in a turnover ceremony hosted by the Manila City government on December 1, also to commemorate World AIDS Day. According to the US Embassy in the Philippines...