On May 9, the Philippines will hold its 17th presidential and 16th vice presidential elections. These elections will decide the country’s future, and the voters have an enormous responsibility to choose a better life for all Filipinos. And to do this, voter education is the key.

The University of the Philippines (UP) Office of the Student Regent, in partnership with the UP Office of Student Development Services (OSDS), the UP Media and Public Relations Office (MPRO), and the UP National Service Training Program (NSTP), has launched “Hirang ng Bayan,” a comprehensive voters education program consisting of UP’s various initiatives to help educate its community and the general public in line with the upcoming 2022 elections.

In celebration of Women’s Month, the University of the Philippines conducted a series of public service initiatives that focus on highlighting the role and participation of women in building and rebuilding nations. The University took part in recognizing the importance of eliminating discrimination and inequalities based on sex. The following public service initiatives are largely centered on Women’s Month celebration.

Under the MOU, the agency will seek the expertise of UPLB’s Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) for seeds and the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB) for biotechnology inputs.

UPLB-IPB will undertake programs supporting the production of seeds, scions, stocks, plantations, fruits, vegetables, legumes, root crops, rice, corn, cassava, and adlai.

Meanwhile, UPLB-NIMBB will support the production of biofertilizers, feed ingredients or supplements, probiotics, and other products of biotechnology.

University of the Philippines (UP) scientists have saved the world’s only freshwater sardine locally known as “tawilis” (Sardinella tawilis) from possible extinction.

The Filipino scientists of the UP Los Baños – Limnological Station (UPLB-LS) successfully conserved a number of tawilis away from Taal Lake in Batangas province, where it is known to be endemic, to ensure the survival of the endangered freshwater fish species in the case of a volcanic eruption.

The Diploma in/Master of Research and Development Management (D/MR&DM) program is now running a two-month training course program (with synchronous and asynchronous sessions) on Research and Development Management. This training program, titled “Research Capacity Building Program for Makapuno/Agriculture Researchers and Community Extension Workers” is part of the Continuing Education Program (CEP) courses of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS).

The satellite facilities of the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center in Visayas and Mindanao are now capable of sequencing samples, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Tuesday.

In a statement, UP-PGC executive director Cynthia Saloma said the mutations of the virus remain unpredictable.

“We need genomic biosurveillance to help keep our health system ready for any possible new variants and to track the behavior of existing ones. PGC’s network in Luzon, and now Visayas and Mindanao supports this,” Saloma said.

The Continuing Education and Training Division of the School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM) held an In-house Training on Clear and Effective Writing for Straight News and Feature Articles on 3 March 2022. About 33 faculty members, researchers, and students participated in the online event. This in-house training aimed to capacitate SESAM Staff and students on how to conceptualize and produce news and feature articles for upload to UPLB and SESAM website.