MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

activated. updated.

October 2015

Official Publication of the UPLB College of Agriculture

CA joins 97 UPLB
Loyalty Day & Alumni
Homecoming; wins Best
Float & Street Dance
th

he College of Agriculture (CA) delegation, headed

by Dean Enrico P. Supangco; together with the cluster directors, faculty, staff and students; came in full force in
the annual foot parade which highlighted this years Loyalty
Day and Alumni Homecoming celebration.
Adhering to the theme, Agro-industrial Innovations and
Entrepreneurship for Inclusive Growth, the CA contingent
paraded along with their float bearing a banner with the caption, Makiisa sa Kolehiyo ng Agrikultura Tungo sa SamaSamang Pag-unlad ng Magsasaka at Pamayanan; and also
containing some of the technologies and products of research of the five clusters. The group also exhibited its talent
in street dancing and displayed its creativity through the
props used in front of the D. L. Umali Hall where the judges,
alumni and guests were seated. No less than the dean and
the cluster directors led the presentation to the delight of the
audience.
What made CAs participation more significant were the
Best Float and the Best Street Dance awards given to the
college during the luncheon (salu-salo) at the Baker Hall.
(Imelda M. Gesmundo)

CA holds AUNQA
SAR writeshop

he College of Agriculture (CA) conducted an

ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN
-QA) Self-Assessment Review (SAR) writeshop last October
12-13 at the Development Academy of the Philippines in
Tagaytay City, Cavite.
The two-day workshop was aimed to review the evidences made by the group participants and consolidate all outputs
of the self-assessment review of all major academic programs of CA.
The self-assessment review is an exercise wherein the
participants involved in the program conducted a self-study
using the framework set of criteria approved by the AUN-QA.
The criteria for assessment includes the following: 1. Existence of QA system; 2. Teaching and learning (which focuses
on course curriculum, academic staff, student assessment,
learning process, environmental health and safety, and learning resources); 3. Research (which includes funding and facilities and research output); 4. Services; 5. Ethics; and 6.
Human resource development. Furthermore, the assessment

Volume 4

No. 10

review is geared towards the improvement and assurance of academic quality. It also provides mechanisms for continuous quality
improvement for the sustainability and development of the program, and buffers against pressures to lower quality standards.
About 90% of the write-ups of the assessment review has
been done and the participants would still have to collect few
more evidences to support the texts in the output. The CA-AUN
Team agreed to have a walk through of the draft report on November 6 prior to its finalization.
The assessment review was participated in by the dean, associate dean, cluster faculty members and staff of the Deans
Office.
Founded in November 1995, the AUN is an Asian university
association composed of 30 universities (including the UP system) from 10 ASEAN countries. It created the AUN-QA to help
all higher education institutions in ASEAN countries attain and
maintain their high standard of education. (IM Gesmundo, with
information from Rachel B. Bautista; https://en.wikipedia/wiki/
ASEAN_University_Netw; www.aunsec.org.//pdf/aunwebsite/01AUNQAGuideline Manual.pdf)

CPC researcher & faculty

garner national &
regional awards
Two personnel from the Crop Protection Cluster (CPC) recently copped separate awards from two government agencies.
Mario V. Navasero, researcher and UP Scientist, was chosen
by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as one of the 2015 national Dangal ng Bayan awardees. He will formally receive the
plaque of recognition and monetary reward on November 9 at the
Malacaan Palace, with no less than His Excellency Benigno
Simeon Aquino III conferring the award.
Navasero was also given the said award in the regional category last October 20 at the CSC Region IV office in Quezon City.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pio A. Javier (entomologist and faculty)
bagged this years Department of Agriculture Gawad Saka award
in Region IV as Most Outstanding Agricultural Scientist. The
awarding ceremony will be held on October 29 at Sta. Cruz, Laguna. This multi-awarded researcher and scientist is also competing for the said award in the national category. (Ruby G. dela
Cruz)

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The Editor
CA Monthly Newsletter
AgriBookstore, IH Complex, UPLB Campus

Page 2

DMFI awards scholarship to

CA students

soil trade fair and symposium, mud painting contest, and LUPASCI 3: Social Science 1 Inter-laboratory Contest.

The trade fair at the ASH grounds aims to create awareness

on the importance of healthy soils and showcase the products of
wo deserving students from the College of Agriculture the different CA clusters. (RG dela Cruz)
(CA) were formally awarded a scholarship grant from
the Diwa ng Magdalo Foundation Inc. (DMFI) last October 5 at
the CA deans Office conference room.

FOREIGN TRAVEL*

The grantees are Lorraine Klein M. Altovar (BS Agricultural

Biotechnology) and Nel Oliver B. Mateo (BS Agriculture). There
were also awardees from the College of Economics and Management, namely; Ericka Shane R. Labilles (BS Agribusiness
Management), Letticia L. Carodan (BS Agribusiness Management) and Angeli Ann P. Llantos (BS Agricultural Economics).
Furthermore, Fe Lebios and Norman Spencer Lo
(representatives of DMFI) came in behalf of Sen. Antonio F.
Trillanes IV. CA Dean Enrico P. Supangco and Dr. Cynthia R.
Oliveros (college secretary) attended the ceremony to accompany the student awardees. (Rachel B. Bautista)

Polangui Community College

faculty/staff visit CA

orty (40) faculty and staff of the Polangui Community

College (PCC) in Polangui, Albay (headed by its president, Dr. Rosalinda B. Barquez) visited CA last October 7.
In a courtesy call with Dean Enrico P. Supangco, Dr.
Barquez said on behalf of her colleagues that they want to know
the best practices or technology at CA which they could adopt
for their students. Dean Supangco suggested that CA can bring
some of its technologies to PCC once invited.
To orient the visitors, a video presentation about CA
(curricular programs, technologies and services) was conducted. Afterwards, they visited the Institute of Plant Breeding, Crop
Science Cluster where different crops developed by the institute
was shown to them, including open-pollinated vegetable seeds
which many of them bought for school and home use.
At the Edible Landscaping project of Chancellor Fernando
C. Sanchez, located just across the Ornamental Crops Nursery,
the visitors were amazed on the landscape using vegetables
and herbs, a technology which they could replicate at PCC.

Dr. Christian Joseph R. Cumagun, professor, Crop Protection Cluster (CPC); attended the 2nd Surveillance Network on Rice Health in South East Asia Meeting on Soil
Management Practices and Incidence on Microbial and
Nematode Communities in Hanoi, Vietnam; October 3-7
Roanne R. Ripalda, university research associate, Crop
Science Cluster (CSC); participated in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Training Course on Development of Bioenergy Crops as Renewable Energy Sources for
APEC Economics in Royal Ambarrukmo Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; October 11-16
Dr. Floirendo P. Flores, associate professor, Food Science
Cluster (FSC); attended the training on Food Packaging:
Innovation, Safety and Sustainability organized by Cremona Executive Education Program; October 12-16
Dr. Amado A. Angeles, assistant professor, Animal and
Dairy Sciences Cluster; presently attending a training on the
fundamentals of phage display and other relevant recombinant antibody techniques at the University of Illinois, Chicago, USA; October 18, 2015 to January 17, 2016
Dr. Celia dR. Medina, associate professor, CPC; participated in the Exchange Scientists/Experts Mission Program at
the Rural Development Administration, South Korea; October 19-28
Ara Fatima C. Algar, assistant professor, FSC; presently
attending the 2015 Innovative Food Processing Technology
Workshop in Kaohsiung, Taiwan; October 24 - November 1
Dr. Elda B. Esguerra, professor, CSC; provides expert
services in the implementation of the Training of Trainers on
Horticultural Chain Management as part of the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) Technical Cooperation Project titled Reduction of Postharvest Losses in Horticultural
Chains in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) Countries in Nepal; October 30 to November 8

Likewise, books for PCCs library were bought at the CA

AgriBookstore, a destination which is sometimes overlooked by
*Prepared by IM Gesmundo and Erlinda A. Balot
many of CAs visitors from state colleges and universities. (IM
Gesmundo)

ASC celebrates
Soil Science Week &
Intl Year of Soils

he Agricultural Systems Cluster (ASC), in partnership

with the UP Soil Science Society, kicked off the celebration of the Soil Science Week and International Year of Soils
last October 26 at the Agronomy-Soils-Horticulture (ASH)
grounds.
With the theme, Healthy Soils: The Hope of Future Generation, the four-day activity, which will culminate on October 29,
will have the following activities: parade and solidarity meeting,

We welcome articles/news briefs from any CA

constituent. Thank you.

The CA Monthly Newsletter

is published through the Office of the Dean,
College of Agriculture, UPLB, College, Laguna
Advisers:

Dean Enrico P. Supangco

Associate Dean Tonette P. Laude
Editor:
Apolinario L. Lantican
Contributors: EA Balot, RB Bautista, RG dela Cruz and IM
Gesmundo
Layout Artist: AL Lantican