By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr.

BATAC, ILOCOS NORTE – A rice paddy art featuring President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and his “Bagong Pilipinas” governance slogan was launched today, September 11, by the Mariano Marcos State University and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). 

President Marcos graced the launching of the paddy art located at the MMSU Extension Demonstration Area in the main campus. The event coincided with the 106th birth anniversary celebration of his father, President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr., founder of both MMSU and PhilRice.

Together with him were First Lady Liza Marcos, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte First District Representative Sandro Marcos, Second District Representative Angelo Marcos Barba, Provincial Governor Matthew Manotoc, and Vice Governor Cecilia Marcos.

Pres. Marcos expressed delight for the fruitful collaboration of MMSU and PhilRice, noting “we have seen how much improvement and how much knowledge we have gained over the many years that we have been doing."

He also urged the two institutions to "scale up and move technologies from the laboratories to the market. "We have to make sure these technologies increase our production and benefit our farmers," he said. 

MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis and PhilRice Executive Director John De Leon joined President Marcos in the launching that was witnessed by over 5,000 attendees, including national government executives and agency heads; provincial and local government officials; MMSU administrators, employees and students; and local farmer-leaders. 

President Agrupis explained the paddy art is “in recognition of his accomplishments and initiatives for socio-economic development through agriculture, both as Chief Executive and as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

“It signifies our unyielding commitment to achieving food sufficiency, a goal deeply rooted in the vision of Bagong Pilipinas,” she added.

The event started at 10:30 am with the viewing of the rice paddy art by President Marcos. This was followed by a program at the MMSU Teatro Ilocandia where delivered a message.

MMSU and PhilRice decided to feature President Marcos in this year’s paddy art in support of his vision of a new Philippines, particularly on achieving food security and reinvigorating the country’s agriculture sector. 

President Marcos' “Bagong Pilipinas” slogan calls for a deep and fundamental transformation in all sectors of society, and fosters the government’s commitment towards the attainment of comprehensive policy reforms and full economic recovery in the country. 

The Paddy Art

The rice paddy art was created using IR 1552, a traditional Korean purple variety, as the paint, and the NSIC Rc 222 (Tubigan 18) as the green canvas. The latter is a variety bred released by the International Rice Research institute in 2010, which yields an average of 6.1 ton and maximum of 10 tons per hectare. It is one of the three nationally recommended varieties under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund Seed Program of the Department of Agriculture. 

In creating the paddy design, the planters applied the anamorphosis principle, a technique used in 3D art that makes a picture look distorted, but appears normal when viewed from a certain angle.

This form of art, which began in Japan in 1993, is known for its detailed description and high artistic quality. Over the years it has attracted a huge number of tourists in MMSU.

The collaborative project aims to pay tribute to exemplary individuals who have significant contributions to agriculture in nation-building, while showcasing innovative rice production technologies and promoting agri-tourism in the province. It also seeks to encourage and inspire the young generation to take agriculture-related courses. 

Previous Faces

The rice paddy art has been conducted annually by MMSU and PhilRice since 2018. Other images featured in the past years were of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, the MMSU ACHIEVE agenda, former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos; Dr. Santiago R. Obien, former MMSU president and PhilRice’s first executive director; Don Mariano Marcos and 1978 (MMSU’s year of establishment); and General Artemio Ricarte, father of the Philippine Army. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)