Biotech Updates

Jose Burgos Jr. Biotech Awards Honors Filipino Science Journalists, Launches Trust Fund

December 3, 2010

Filipino print media science journalists, who inscribed exemplary news and feature stories on biotechnology in nationally circulated print dailies in the country, were recently recognized by the Jose G. Burgos Jr. Awards for Biotechnology Journalism. The awarding is one of the highlights of the Philippine 6th National Biotechnology Week celebration.

Two major awards were bagged by Lyn Resurreccion, Science Editor of Business Mirror: 1st prize award as the Best Feature Story for her article ‘Worm-free Talong (Eggplant)' and the 2nd prize award in Best News Story category for her article ‘China Bt rice OK to boost supply. Philippine print media institutions that published most number of biotech news stories were also awarded: the Manila Bulletin, 1st place; Business Mirror, 2nd place; and Philippine STAR, 3rd place.

"I commend the persistence of our research scientists for their unwavering efforts in working on biotech R&D that would benefit the people, and for sharing the science behind their researches to us, journalists. Without the information from the scientists, there will be no innovative stories that we can share to our readers," said Lyn.

The awarding was highlighted with the launching of the Trust Fund that marks the Awards' institutionalization to broaden its coverage. Its logo was unveiled by Dr. Edita Burgos, Executive Director of the Biotechnology for Life Resource Media Advocacy and Resource Center (BMARC).

The Jose G. Burgos Jr. Awards for Biotechnology Journalism was launched in 2005 to encourage science journalists to push frontiers in science inquiry with focus on biotechnology. It was established by BMARC, a consortium among the Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Program Office, the Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture through its Biotechnology Information Center, Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, and the Jose Burgos Jr. Media Services, Inc.

For additional information about the Award and the other winners, visit http://www.bic.searca.org or send an email to bic@agri.searca.org.