“

”

Commiting himself as a representative of the legislature in the steering comittee, Keynote speaker 

Representative Angelo Palmones of AGHAM Party List emphasizes the challenge of increasing more 

champions to push forward the cause of biotechnology in promoting the public welfare in the 8th National 

Biotechnology Week celebration at Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Quezon City, November 26.

Staff of DOH welcomes 

delegates to the 8th National 

Biotechnology Week.

Winners of the Biotech Campus 

 Journalism Contest strike a pose 

with Representative Palmones.

The theme for the competition 

is dubbed “The Benets and 

Potentials of Modern Crop

Biotechnology in the Philippines.” 

Representative Palmones, who has been an

advocate of biotechnology in the country,

posited three major points in pushing forward

the thrust of biotechnology - breaking 

misconceptions against biotechnology,

inadequate policy environment, and widening the

base of biotechnology champions.

Representative Palmones bares that

biotechnology is a powerful tool in the creation

of wealth from human capital as well as

from biodiversity. He promised the younger

generations for a better policy environment by 

pushing House Bill 844 otherwise known as an

 Act promoting the Growth of a Biotechnology 

Industry in the Philippines and Creation of 

 Wealth from Biodiversity.

 The proposed bill creates for the Philippine

Bioindustry Research and Development Center

 which shall develop and market competititve,

biologically-based technologies and products and

establish a state of the art facilities for research

and study.

Likewise, the proposed bill also creates for the

guarantee fund in the amount of Php 500 million

to be sourced fromthe Agricultural Competitive

Who arethe nextbiotechscientists?

Keynote speaker AGHAM Party 

List Representative Angelo Palmones 

 posits the challenge of producing 

more champions and engaging younger 

 generations in biotechnology.

8th  National Biotechnology Week

Bioteknolohiya paran sa 

Kalikasan, Kalusugan,

Kagandahan, Kabuhayan 

at Kaunlaran 

OK ang 5K sa 

Kalusugan Pangkalahatan: 

 Mamamayan at Kalikasan GATEWAY MALL,

ARANETA CENTER, QUEZON CITY,November 26 - 30, 2012

Enhancement Fund to provide guarantee venture

capital invested in biotechnology companies. Such

funds can be used as nancial grants to technology 

start-ups with agricultural and aquaculture related

products and services for seed capital and for

subsequent expansion.

Furthermore, Assistant Secretary Paulyn Jean

Ubial, in behalf of the Department of Health

 which spearheaded the observance of the week-

long celebration, iterated the message of Secretary 

Enrique Ona that the said department is focusing 

on vaccine products for immunization. It is said

that vaccine production on rotavirus, pentavalent

and pneumonococcal vaccines are still the most

cost-effective public health intervention that can

prevent and control diseases.

Meanwhile, in response to the challenge of 

Representative Palmones to younger generations,

the Philippine Science Journalists Association Inc.

(PSciJourn), AGHAM Party List, the International

Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech

 Applications and the Southeast Asian Regional

Center for Graduate Study and Research in

 Agriculture-Biotechnology Incformation Center

awarded young journalists in the nationwide

Biotech Campus Journalism Contest.

 

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”

MakingMediaadvocatesof biotech

 Encouraging media partners 

and practitioners to promote 

biotechnology 

“”

Biotechnology

explained and

made simple

GATEWAY MALL,

ARANETA CENTER, QUEZON CITY,November 26 - 30, 2012

Spearheading the 8th National Biotechnology 

 Week, the Department of Health, together with

the Departments of Agriculture, Education,

Environment and Natural Resources, Science

and Technololgy, Trade and Industry, Interior

and Local Government, and the Commission on

Higher Education, worked with several media

partners in increasing public understanding and

knowledge on the benets and impacts as well as

the safe and responsible use and application of 

biotechnology in the country.

DOH Assistant Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial

shared that there are around 155 biotechnology 

drugs and vaccines that are approved for use and

the biopharmaceutical industries are still working 

 A jampacked venue of more than 300 students,

local government units, national and regional line

agencies graced the rst scientic forum of the

8th National Biotechnology Week sponsored by 

the Department of Agriculture.

hard to develop more life-saving biotech products.

Media practitioners, as stressed by the panelists, plays

a critical role in breaking misconceptions, changing 

behavioral patterns and increasing awareness of the

public for biotechnology.

 Among the speakers for the media forum were Dr.

Candida Adalla of the Department of Agriculture,

 Assistant Secretary Dr. Paulyn Jean Ubial of the

Department of Health, Dr. Virginia Novenario

- Enriquez of the Department of Science and

 Technology and Dr. Evangeline Castillo of the

Department of Enviornment and Natural Resources.

 The media forum was hosted by Dr. Aristotle

Carandang of the Department of Science and

 Technology.

 The forum engaged the common Filipinos with

issues ranging from food and agriculture, health,

environment and the promises of biotechnology in

the near future. Dr. Evelyn Mendoza, member of 

the National Academy of Science and Technology 

explained in plain terms what

biotechnology is and how it

impacts the life of a common

Filipino. Dr. Candida Adalla, on

the other hand, shared that the

global facts and current reality 

of poverty and malnutrition

leads to the increasing need for

biotechnology.

Dr. Nina Gloriani of the UP

College of Public Health,

tackled biosafety for health while

Dr. Leuvina Tandug, Assistant

Director of the Department

of Environment and Natural

Resources focused on

biotechnology for environment.

Bioteknolohiya paran sa Kalikasan, Kalusugan,

Kagandahan, Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran 

OK ang 5K sa Kalusugan Pangkalahatan: 

 Mamamayan at Kalikasan 

Dr. Candida Adalla,

Department of Agriculture 

Dr. Virginia Novenario - Enriquez 

DOST, PCIEERD 

Dr. Evanegeline Castillo

DENR, ERDB

How biotechnology affects to

a simple Juan de la Cruz 

The logo seeks to emphasize 

contemporary and formal 

representation that are exclusive 

of all the beneciaries of 

biotechnology. The logo was 

inferred from the theme: 

Bioteknolohiya para sa 

Kalikasan, Kagandahan,

Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran.

 About 500 delegates attended 

the 1st scientic forum on 

Biotechnology for Filipinos.

   L .   A

  n  o  n  u  e  v  o ,   A

 .   R  o  s  a   l  e  s ,

   M .   T

  a  n  g   h  a   l

Students ennjoy answering quizes on 

biotechnology in one of the booths 

during the 8th National Biotechnology Week