Biotech Updates

ISAAA Global Coordinator and Former BIC Head Receive Biotech Awards

November 28, 2008

Recognizing their exemplary contribution in promoting biotechnology in the Philippines, Dr. Randy A. Hautea, Global Coordinator and Southeast Asia Center Director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), and Ms. Sonny P. Tababa, former Network Administrator of the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center (BIC), received special citations at the 4th Jose G. Burgos, Jr. Awards for Biotech Journalism held at the Institute of Small-Scale Industries (ISSI), University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City on 27 November 2008.

Dr. Hautea was commended for his efforts at facilitating the transfer of crop biotechnology applications and the benefits of new agricultural biotechnologies to the country through public-private partnerships. He assists the national programs on biotechnology through R&D grants, and has been instrumental in the establishment of a pool of experts by supporting capability building programs in the fields of food safety, biosafety, risk assessment and risk management, intellectual property rights, and communication. Likewise, Ms. Tababa was recognized for her contribution in promoting public understanding and acceptance of biotechnology in the country through her successful coordination and implementation of biotechnology advocacy programs of the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center, making it as one of the most credible source of science-based information on biotechnology.

The Jose G. Burgos, Jr. Awards for Biotech Journalism is held annually to recognize Filipino science journalists and biotech workers who contribute in promoting and communicating biotechnology in the country. The Award is organized by the Biotechnology for Life Media Advocacy and Resource Center, a consortium of the Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Biotech Coalition of the Philippines, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Development, and the J. Burgos Media Services Inc.

For more information email Rochella B. Lapitan of the SEARCA BIC at rbl@agri.searca.org.