December 2007

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The show must go on

WE just concluded two weeks ago the 3rd National Biotechnology Week, a simple yet very lively celebration that showcased the advances made in the field of biotechnology.

After that very busy week, I’m still having flashbacks of the events that unfolded. Truly, it was very rewarding experience for me and my fellow biotech advocates.

I should say it was the year’s best show because, through the celebration, we were able to give recognition to the men and women involved in the practice of biotechnology and its application in the Philippines.

We have to recognize as well the products of their hard work and dedication, the results of hundreds of grueling days in research laboratories that contribute to the development of what we simply call "Pinoy Biotek."

But we owe much of the success of the celebration to the fact that biotechnology has no less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as its true-blue champion.

In signing Presidential Proclamation 1414, declaring every last week of November the National Biotechnology Week, we are assured that the annual celebration, a fitting show for our times, will go on.

As I’ve predicted during the opening day ceremony, the celebration will be special, because of the strong network of biotechnology advocates that we established through the Biotechnology Information and Organization Network (BIONet).

Our BIONet officers and members came all the way to Manila, some coming from as far the Visayas and Mindanao, and far-end of Luzon to celebrate with us.

During the celebration, we were able to launch some of our very important programs – the Biotech Teachers’ Manual, the Biotech Research Fellowship Program and the Biotech Business Incubation Facility. We also launched my pet project, "Malunggay in the City," an urban farming program which aims to establish farms in urban areas by farming the lowly malunggay in 14 different sites in Metro Manila.

All these programs are designed to promote biotechnology as a science and its application to agriculture and boost economic opportunities in biotechnology through biocommerce, which hopefully would help fight hunger and poverty and spur economic growth in the long run.

Dr. Gaudencio Petalcorin, vice president of the Northern Mindanao State Institute of Science and Technology (NORMISIST), who is also the national president of BIONet, and Dr. Ahmad Alonto flew from Mindanao to Manila and stayed with us all throughout the week which also brought us to the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in Laguna.

The trip to UPLB became even more exciting as we came to see the Pinoy Biotek exhibits at the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH). Truly, as far as those amazing biotechnology products are concerned, we are not lagging behind First-World countries.

It makes me proud that we have Filipino scientists who are equipped with the wit and the talent, along with the scientific expertise and technical knowledge, to put together different products that will have significant impact on our people’s lives.

At the end of the day, and after assessing how we fared in holding the celebration, I believe we did well. But like in showbiz, the show never stops. Soon, we will hit the road again to promote biotechnology. The show must go on.

Alicia Ilaga is the Director of the DA Biotechnology Program Office (BPO) and is also the Vice-President for Luzon of BIONet.

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BIOCommerce tulong sa mga magsasaka

'Malunggay in the City'

BIONet to blossom in 2008

Mga malunggay recipe ni Dr. Valera

Pinoy scientists and products shine
in 3rd National Biotechnology Week

Editorial

Forging ahead

Columns

Dr. Gaudencio C. Petalcorin, Jr.

Alicia Ilaga

Nanet Tanyag

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