The Upsilon Sigma Phi congratulates Atty. Avelino D. Tolentino III ’01 for being appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
The DHSUD is the
government’s central housing authority, which plans, manages, and
regulates the creation and development of housing projects in the
country.
Prior to his appointment, Fellow Avelino was the
Assistant Secretary at the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating
Council (HUDCC).
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political
Science from the University of the Philippines, and a Juris Doctor
degree from the Ateneo School of Law. Furthermore, he took up a special
program for Urban and Regional Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
(JAN. 15)―UP Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM) professor Gay Jane Perez, PhD, is the Deputy Director General of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).
Perez is part of a team of engineers and scientists that developed
the country’s first microsatellites, the Diwata-1 and Diwata-2. She is
the program leader of the STAMINA4 space Program, a research and
development program “aimed at further developing deep expertise that
enables and sustains the growth of a local scientific-industrial base in
space technology and applications in the Philippines.”
She is Associate Professor at IESM and her research interests are in
satellite remote sensing of the environment, climate data assimilation,
climate change and variability, complex systems, and interdisciplinary
applications of Physics.
PhilSA is the country’s national space agency created on Aug. 8, 2019
through Republic Act 1163, popularly known as the “Philippine Space
Act.”
An attached agency of the Office of the President, the DOST webpage
described PhilSA as “the main government agency to take up activities
and issues related to space science, space technology, and its
applications. These include the crafting and implementation of space
policies, space-related research, as well as related development
programs. The key development and priority areas include: National
Security and Development; Hazard Management and Climate Studies; Space
Research and Development; Space Industry Capacity Building; Education
and Awareness; and International Cooperation.”
For her various researches in remote sensing, Perez was awarded the 2019-2021 Cycle UP Scientific Productivity Award (Scientist II), the 2019 TOWNS Award, the 2019 Asian Scientist 100,and the 2018 ASEAN-US Prize for Women.
Atty. Rudyard S. Arbolado and Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez
MANILA — Philippine Daily Inquirer’s (PDI) Chief Operating Officer
Rudyard S. Arbolado has taken over effective the start of the new year
as President and Chief Executive Officer of the country’s largest
newspaper, PDI’s Chairman of the Board Raul Palabrica announced on
Tuesday.
Palabrica said PDI’s former President and CEO Alexandra
Prieto-Romualdez “relinquished her position so she can focus on her
duties and responsibilities as CEO of the Inquirer Group of Companies
(IGC).”
“She is assuming the helm of the IGC with the singular objective of
making its member companies more productive and efficient, and in a
better position to realize their corporate objectives. She will
continue, however, to remain a member of the board of directors of our
Company and other IGC affiliate companies,” he said of Prieto-Romualdez.
In a letter to PDI and IGC officials and employees, Palabrica
congratulated Arbolado on his new position as he thanked
Prieto-Romualdez “for her 27-year leadership” and wished her well in her
new “challenging role.”
Palabrica said Arbolado was elected to his new position by the Board
of Directors on Dec. 10 last year which became effective last Jan. 1.
Arbolado has been COO since 2018 where he had embarked on programs
that resulted in “positive growth in advertisement and subscription
revenues, maximization of resources and reduction of operating costs.”
Previously, Arbolado was PDI’s chief finance officer and head of
Finance and supervised Finance and Accounting, Credit and Collection,
Financial Planning/Budget, and Treasury, and had helped in enhancing
their operational efficiency.
“The Covid-19 pandemic, a phenomenon that has (and continues to)
adversely affect businesses in the country, tested the leadership mettle
of Rudyard and he passed with flying colors,” Palabrica said.
Before joining PDI, Arbolado served as its General Counsel in 2008.
He was an associate lawyer at the ACCRA Law Office and also served as
consultant at GMA New Media Inc. and Unicapital Securities Corp.
Arbolado is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the
Philippine Bar having received his Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration and Accountancy, and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the
University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
“I am honored and humbled to accept the appointment as President and
CEO of PDI. I am filled with boundless gratitude for the confidence you
have placed in me, and I promise that I will strive with all that I have
to meet your expectations in making this appointment,” Arbolado said,
addressing Palabrica and the board.
“I follow a remarkable leader. Our President and CEO Sandy
Prieto-Romualdez has made significant and lasting contributions to our
company and our country by ensuring Inquirer delivers on its commitment
to balanced news and fearless views to the reading public,” he said,
adding his hope “to build upon (Prieto-Romualdez)’ legacy.”
For her part, Prieto-Romualdez expressed confidence on Arbolado’s new leadership role.
“I am 100 percent confident that Rudyard is capable of taking on the stewarship of PDI. He has got the skills and competencies and more importantly, he has the passion and energy to pursue the vision and mission of PDI to tell the Filipino story and be a catalyst for social progress and change,” Prieto-Romualdez said.
IF YOU consider yourself always updated on developments in the investment and banking space in the country, you might have heard of Tonik Digital Bank, Inc. earlier this year.
Tonik Bank (launched
in beta mode in November 2020 and set to have its commercial launch in
the first quarter of 2021), is the first all-digital bank in the
Philippines and in Southeast Asia. It was established by Tonik Financial
Pte. Ltd. Singapore, a financial technology company.
Heading
the operations here in the Philippines is Maria Lourdes Jocelyn “Long”
Pineda, a Dabawenya who graduated with a degree in Business
Administration from the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU).
Long’s
parents were well-known figures in the Davao City landscape – her
father, Mariano S. Solis Sr., used to be the chief of police of Davao
City during the administration of the late mayor (later congressman)
Elias B. Lopez; her mother, Lourdes Cura-Solis, was known for her
philanthropy and was a Datu Bago Awardee of Davao City, a University of
Santo Tomas Golden Awardee and the founder of Davao Boys Town.
Before
joining Tonik, Pineda had over 25 years of financial inclusion
experience in the Philippines and in different global emerging markets
in Asia and Latin America.
After graduating from AdDU, she took her Masters in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Pineda
started her career in an investment bank and later moved to working
with a government agency involved in grassroots lending during the time
of former president Ferdinand Marcos until the year of the Edsa
revolution. After the Edsa revolution, she went into entrepreneurship
and established a gym along Ilustre Street, just on the floor above the
then Garmon Theater.
Her
Slim & Trim ran successfully from 1986 to 2000. Many didn’t know
this about her, but in those years, she wasn’t just an entrepreneur
owning a gym in Davao City, she was also a licensed gym instructor and a
powerlifter.
In those 15 years, Pineda was also an active member
of Datba (Davao All-Terrain Bikers Association), a group of mountain
bike aficionados in Davao City. She was their first female member.
While managing Slim & Trim and being physically active, she also had Japanese takeout counters in several malls in the city.
It
seems like banking wouldn’t let go of Pineda that easily. Their family
then owned a rural bank in Davao del Norte and she was asked to assist
its operations as compliance officer. Her daily schedule would start
with a 7 a.m aerobics class at Slim & Trim, travel to Davao del
Norte to oversee the bank’s operations, and then head back to Davao City
for a 6 p.m. aerobics class again.
After a hiatus from the
corporate world, she was invited to join the Microenterprise Access to
Banking Services (Mabs), a USAid-supported microfinance program as a
regional manager for Visayas. This was when her banking career started
to blossom yet again as after her stint with Mabs, she was then hired as
senior director by Boston-based Accion International. Here, she helped
set up the microfinance individual lending operations of Accion partners
in India where she was based for two years.
It was while she was
based in India that the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)
invited her to come back to the Philippines to set up RCBC’s
microfinance operation. This is when she decided to come back home.
“Filipinos
should give back to the country. I thought it’s time to introduce to
the Philippine banking space the technology on microfinance I have
learned from working with Accion in India and Latin America,” Pineda
said.
She joined RCBC as senior vice president spearheading the
unibank’s microfinance initiative. She was initially seconded as the
chief executive officer of the President Jose P. Laurel Rural Bank in
Batangas (a rural bank that RCBC had acquired), while at the same time
doing the initial groundwork for setting up Rizal Microbank, the
microfinance thrift bank of RCBC.
It was around this time that
she also decided to take an executive course on Strategic leadership on
microfinance at the Harvard Business School in Boston, USA.
“MBA
is good in your 20s when you are building up your career, but when
you’re older, it’s better to take executive courses to enhance one’s
skill set,” she said.
At RCBC, she headed the bank’s microfinance
initiative. She was also the founding president of Rizal Microbank, the
banking subsidiary of RCBC that focused on microfinance and financial
inclusion. She steered Rizal Microbank until her retirement in 2016.
After
these banking years, she decided to go home to Davao City and focus on
something else she loved best and to take a pause from banking.
Microfinance
and financial inclusion, however, remained something she was passionate
about, thus, she went into independent consulting and continued to
provide her technical skills to various institutions wanting to
contribute to financial inclusion in the country.
She became the
lead independent director of BDO Network Bank, a Go Negosyo mentor, and
an international consultant for MicroKonsult before accepting the post
of president and country manager for Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.
In
all those years in the banking industry, Pineda didn’t seem to mind
working in an environment that was largely dominated by men.
“I
deal with my colleagues as an executive, not as a woman. I also find it
easier to deal with men because they’re more straightforward than women.
Women tend to sugarcoat so they don’t hurt your feelings, but with
guys, they usually say what they think so it’s really simple,” said
Pineda, who added that her mountain biking days surrounded by male
friends also helped.
Heading an all-digital bank is not easy and
required a lot of tech skills upgrade for Pineda, but her three banker
daughters, the youngest being 25 years old, helped her a lot. She is
also married to a banker.
“I like that at Tonik, I am surrounded
by young people. The average age in the office is 27 years old. With
young people, it’s easy to think out of the box and that, for me, is
interesting. I am forced to be techy and to keep up with the times,” she
said.
Six out of the ten people selected by Stargate People Asia as People of the Year 2021, including two special awardees, are alumni of the University of the Philippines (UP). This was announced last December 12.
The UP alumni selected as People of the Year 2021 are: UP Philippine General Hospital director, Dr. Gerardo D. Legaspi; Philippine Star Editor-in-Chief Ana Marie Pamintuan, who graduated from the UP Diliman College of Mass Communication; President, CEO and Director of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. Cesar Grospe Romero, who earned his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, cum laude, from UP Diliman; and Cavite Governor Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Catibayan Remulla Jr., who earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from UP Diliman. The two chosen as Special Awardees are: Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo and Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, both of whom earned their undergraduate degrees in Economics from UP Diliman.
According to Stargate People Asia’s caption on Facebook: “From battling the pandemic to uplifting others in the face of calamities, to bringing opportunities to countless Filipinos in search for greener pastures, these ‘People of the Year’ awardees continue to spread a contagion of hope.”
The discovery of a new “spectacular, stunningly beautiful” orchid species in the Philippines was announced today, bringing new excitement to the fields of horticulture, biology, and conservation. The orchid was discovered in Bukidnon by Dr. Miguel David de Leon, a retinal surgeon and field biologist from Cagayan de Oro, and was named Aerides upcmae, after Dr. de Leon’s alma mater, the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.
The new species was published in the Orchideen Journal by Dr. de Leon along with co-authors Martin Motes, Jim Cootes, and Derek Cabactulan. “There are more than 1,100 orchid species in the Philippines and only 11 of these are Aerides species,” according to Cabactulan, “but Aerides upcmae is the most surprising of all the Philippine Aerides. It belongs to a section that has not been found outside of its range in mainland Southeast Asia.”
Due to habitat destruction and overcollection, it is especially rare to find large and highly attractive orchid species such as Aerides upcmae
in the Philippine wilderness. Orchids reflect ecological health and are
considered a sensitive bioindicator because they do not tolerate change
easily.
Moreover, the value to the horticultural field of this new discovery cannot be underestimated. Cootes, a prolific author considered to be the foremost authority on Philippine orchids, is confident that “this is an attractive addition to the hybrid ventures of many orchid nurseries. Efforts should be made to ensure that Aerides upcmae is preserved as the most important species that it is.”
For Dr. de Leon, selecting a name was personally significant: “The orchid genus Aerides literally means ‘children of the air.’ Naming this new species of Aerides after the UP College of Medicine is quite fitting for my Class 1995 and all of UPCM are children of our alma mater, schooled and nurtured by her not just for five academic years but for life.
“Academic excellence, moral virtues and selfless service are some of
the hallmarks of UPCM. Throughout history, doctors from the college have
played key roles in serving our country. During peacetime and
wartime—WWII and, now, COVID-19–UP doctors remain charged and ready to
serve,” said Dr. de Leon. “It is with deep affection and gratitude that
Class 1995 honors its alma mater and all of you who are UPCM with this
spectacular species, Aerides upcmae.”
The UPCM Class of 1995 is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In January, the formal launch of their homecoming year was highlighted by the dedication of two other Aerides species, Aerides turma and Aerides turma fma. anniversarius. The announcement of the discovery of Aerides upcmae was released in time for their final festivities.
QUEZON CITY, Nov. 23 — Agriculture Secretary William Dar received on November 20, the “Lifetime Excellence Award” given by the Asia Leaders Awards 2020, in recognition of his over four decades of dedicated servant leadership to attain food security, both in the Philippines and in other parts of the world.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar received on November 20, the “Lifetime Excellence Award” given by the Asia Leaders Awards 2020, in recognition of his over four decades of dedicated servant leadership to attain food security, both in the Philippines and in other parts of the world. Photo by DA
“Being a son of farmers in the North, I had never imagined holding a top position in government with the opportunity to serve our farmers and fishers and change their fate,” Secretary Dar said in his acceptance speech.
“I had also never imagined garnering this Lifetime Excellence Award, a prestigious recognition from the Asia Leaders Awards 2020. There is so much more I intend to do for our agriculture sector. Nonetheless, I’m very thankful for recognizing my efforts — and the collective achievements of the Department of Agriculture (DA) — thus far,” he added.
“Servant-leadership is how I have led the past four decades, and how I will be leading the DA in the next two years as we continue to lay a solid foundation for a productive, globally competitive and climate-resilient agriculture,” Secretary Dar said.
“While the ongoing global pandemic makes our work at the DA doubly challenging, I will not rest until the victories I have attained in previous organizations I have led are reflected in the lives of the Filipino farmers and fishers,” he added.
“Guided by our ‘new thinking’ to modernize and industrialize the Philippine agri-fishery sector, we, at the DA, will continue to unlock the sector’s vast untapped potentials and gear it up as one of the country’s primary engines of economic growth. Agriculture will be an attractive sector as a source of income and a hotbed for honing technological sophistication,” he said.
He added that “under my leadership, we at the DA vow to continue performing our duties, anchored on the principles of good governance, transparency, consultative engagement and with a greater sense of urgency.”
A horticulturist by profession and the country’s 45th agriculture chief since June 23, 1898, Secretary Dar was appointed as the first director of the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) in 1987 by then Agriculture Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez. Thereafter, he headed the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), and acting DA secretary in 1998.
He went on to become the first Filipino to lead a global agricultural research center, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in India, serving an unprecedented three five-year terms as director-general.
For his remarkable leadership at ICRISAT, the government of India conferred on him the MS Swaminathan Award, India’s version of the World Food Prize.
When he returned to the Philippines in 2014, he founded the Inang Lupa Movement that advocated for the modernization and industrialization of Philippine agriculture.
He was appointed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in August 2019, and immediately confronted several challenges like the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF), birth pains of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), and falling palay prices, and in early 2020, the eruption of Taal volcano, followed by the global Covid-19 pandemic, and recently a series of destructive typhoons that altogether exacted a heavy toll on the country’s food production, supply, and affordability.
The agriculture sector was considered by the country’s economic managers as the saving grace, as it managed to grow by 1.6 percent (%) in the second quarter and 1.2 % in the third quarter 2020, at the height of the community lockdowns imposed by the government to stem the spread of the dreaded Covid-19 virus.
The Lifetime Excellence Award is the third award Secretary Dar has received this year. Two others were the: “Lifetime Contributor Award” by the Asia CEO Awards; and “Presidential Award” by the University of the Philippines Los Baños Alumni Association.
He is one of this year’s 23 recipients of the Asia Leaders Awards (ALA), whose judges include: Gerard Ho, Singapore ambassador to the Philippines; Norman Mohammad, Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines; Hang Dong-man, South Korean ambassador to the Philippines; Abdulgani Macatoman, Trade and Industry undersecretary; Edward Ling, president of the Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines; and Elton See Tan of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The ALA is one of the largest and respected award-giving bodies from the Philippines with awardees from the Asia-Pacific region. It recognizes the exemplary achievements of technocrats and leaders who make a difference in their own organizations, and go out of their comfort zone to help those in need. The ALA recognizes leaders who inspire others to do better, to help others and be the best in their industries, and at the same time, promote the Philippines as a major business hub and investment destination in Asia. (DA-StratComms)
Filipinos in 2020 Asian Scientist 100 list: Alicia
Aguinaldo, Carlo Arcilla, Joselito R. Chavez, Raul Destura, Robert
Dizon, Alonzo Gabriel, Susan Gallardo, Cleotilde Hidalgo-How, Emil Q.
Javier, Emma Sales, and Raymond Tan. Compilation from Asian Scientist
& DOST
MANILA – The scientist behind the Philippines’ first locally
developed testing kit for COVID-19 is one of 11 other Filipinos
recognized as part of Asia’s “most outstanding researchers” for the year
by a regional science magazine.
Dubbed a “lab in a mug“, the Biotek-M can be used within an hour to detect dengue from the onset of a patient’s fever.
Destura’s work on the diagnostic kit since 2010 also landed him a 2019 presidential recognition.
Earlier this year, Destura led the NIH and the UP Philippine Genome
Center in developing a local real-time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase
Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) detection kit for COVID-19.
While initially recalled due to raw material contamination, the
UP-developed testing kit was declared ready for commercial use by the
Department of Health (DOH) in July.UP-developed test kits ready for commercial use: DOH
DOST EXECS IN LIST
Also part of the Asian Scientist’s “best and brightest” list are
Robert Dizon and Carlo Arcilla, who head two agencies under the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Dizon, executive director of the DOST Metals Industry Research and
Development Center (DOST-MIRDC), received the Mario Cruel Award for his
work on the torque mode configuration for the multiple variable
frequency drives that came to be used in 3 DOST transportation projects:
the Hybrid Electric Train, the Automated Guideway Transit System, and the Hybrid Electric Road Train.
Arcilla, meanwhile, heads the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute
(PNRI). He received the Gregorio Zara Award for his contributions in
mineral resource development, water management, and peaceful nuclear
energy applications in the country.
National Scientist Emil Javier was recognized for his pioneering work
as a plant geneticist and agronomist. Aside from his promotion of
innovations for farmers and fisherfolk, Javier was also cited for
academic leadership, having been president of the UP.
Other Filipino scientists in the 2020 list are:
Alicia Aguinaldo of the University of Santo Tomas
Emma Sales of the University of Southern Mindanao
Cleotilde Hidalgo-How of UP Manila
Joselito Chavez of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute
This year’s list also has 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient
Akira Yoshino of Japan, creator of the first commercially viable
lithium-ion battery in 1985.
The Asian Scientist 100 list recognizes researchers from Asia who
received a national or international prize in the preceding year for
their research.
The list’s honorees may also be included for having “made a
significant scientific discovery or provided leadership in academia or
industry.”
Since the list was formed in 2016, 42 Filipinos have already been included.
Prof. Carlo A. Arcilla, PhD, of the College of Science and the late
Prof. Alonzo A. Gabriel, PhD, of the College of Home Economics were
among this year’s Top 100 Asian Scientists named by the “Asian Scientist
Magazine.”
To be acknowledged in the list of honorees, as posted on the
Magazine’s website, “the honoree must have received a national or
international prize in the preceding year for his or her research.
Alternatively, he or she must have made a significant scientific
discovery or provided leadership in academia or industry.”
Arcilla and Gabriel have shown excellence in the field of
environmental science and geology, and food safety and quality,
respectively.
Arcilla
A professor at the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences, Arcilla (http://napexpo.org/2016/speakers/carlo-arcilla/)
received the 2019 Gregorio Y. Zara Award for Basic Research for his
contributions to resolving sensitive issues on mineral resource
development, water management and developing peaceful applications for
nuclear energy in the Philippines. He is now on secondment at the
DOST-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute as its execuitve director.
Gabriel (†)
Gabriel (https://upd.edu.ph/gabriel-39/)
was a professor at the UP CHE-Department of Food Science and Nutrition.
The multiawarded and noted food scientist received the 2019 Eduardo A.
Quisumbing Medal for his research into microbial stress adaptation on
food safety and quality.
The “Asian Scientist 100” was established in 2016 and “celebrates the
success of the region’s best and brightest, highlighting their
achievements across a range of scientific disciplines”
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