AROUND 200 research professionals from all over the country are gathered at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) as it hosts the 16th national convention of the Philippine Association of Research (PHILARM) slated April 19-21 at MMSU’s Teatro Ilocandia.

Dr. William D. Dar, directorgeneral of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India and Dr Luis Rey I. Velasco, chancellor of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB), Laguna (represented by Dr. Enrico D. Sotangco, vice chancellor for research and extension of UPLB), keynoted this national gathering of research managers during an opening program at 9:30 a.m., April 19, at the Teatro Ilocandia.

Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR), likewise, graced the affair. This national activity convened the biggest group of research managers in the country coming from various state universities and colleges, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Agriculture- and Department of Science and Technology-attached agencies, and local government units.

Research leadership award Highlight of the opening program was the presentation of a Research Leadership Excellence (RLE) Award to Dr. Patricio S. Faylon, executive director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) based in Los Baños, Laguna.

PHILARM President and CHED Executive Director William C. Medrano during the ceremony said that the RLE Award is the highest given by the organization to individuals who excel in research management not only in the country but also in the Asia Pacific Region. Faylon was, so far, the third recipient of the award which was started to be given out in 2004. ICRISAT Director-General

Dar was the first RLE awardee. PHILARM Awards and Recognition Committee Chairman and DA-RFU III CLIARC Manager Orlino A. Mercado assisted Medrano in presenting the award to Faylon.

In his response, Faylon thanked PHILARM for the award which, he said, is a recognition of what PCARRD is doing within its system.

A cultural and fellowship gathering was held 7 p.m., April 19, with Dr. Santiago R. Obien, former MMSU president and Philippine Rice Research Institute executive director and now DA-BAR senior technical adviser, as guest of honor and speaker. Here, official candidates for the PHILARM board of directors were formally presented. Also, Department of Environment and Natural Resources-I Regional Technical Director Cesar Orallo and Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Unit-I Acting Regional Executive Director Nestor Domenden gave their individual messages to the convention participants.

MMSU’s Nasudi Cultural Troupe provided entertainment during the affair.Presentation of competing papers Presentation of competing R&D management papers from the affair.

Presentation of competing R&D management papers from the Central Luzon State University, Isabela State University, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, National Research Council of the Philippines, Cotton Development Administration, and National Food Authority as well as from the East-West Seed Company (invited paper) continued 8-12 a.m., April 20.

More papers from the Lorma Colleges, Commission on Higher Education-ARMM, Forest Products Research and Development Institute, Mindanao State Polytechnic College, PCARRD, and UPLB will be presented in the afternoon.

The awarding and closing ceremonies are slated at 8 p.m. today. Highlight of the affair are the induction of new PHILARM members and board of directors as well as the awarding of the “Best R&D Management Paper” and the “Outstanding Research Manager”. Dr. Saturnino M. Ocampo Jr., former MMSU president and now Commission on Higher Education commissioner, will serve as guest of honor and inducting officer.

Another highlight of the affair will be the turning over of the PHILARM presidency to Dr. Heraldo L.Layaoen, MMSU’s vice president for administration, partnerships, and external linkages, by Outgoing President William C. Medrano, CHED’s executive director.

Science and cultural learning

PHILARM, founded on Sept. 9, 1989, is a private, non-stock, non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of the role of research managers in improving and sustaining productivity in research. It is a leading professional organization of research in the Asia Pacific Region which advances and advocates research management as a profession, a career, and a mechanism for scientific and technological innovation, productivity, and sustainable development. It organizes annually the national R&D management convention, develops and offers to interested research managers/personnel regular or customized management courses, and organizes a regional R&D management seminar which involves presentation of three or more R&D management papers in specific regions in the country.

To date, the association is composed of close to 1,000 members from various government agencies, local government units, state colleges and universities, private agencies, non-government organizations, and international institutions.