DOST Honors MIMAROPA’s Best Technopreneurs
By: Charlotte F. Pizarras, DOST-MIMAROPA Regional Office
Dr. Ma. Josefina P. Abilay, DOST-MIMAROPA Regional Office
Outstanding DOST-assisted enterprises took the honors at the 2018 Best Technopreneur Awards held last October 12, 2018, at the Seasons Hotel and Convention Center in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.
It served as the final leg of the annual week-long celebration of science and technology in the MIMAROPA region, celebrated under the banner of “Changing Lives Through Science.”
Now on its 6th year, DOST-MIMAROPA confers awards to assisted micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and community-based enterprises (CBEs) which have improved their business productivity, profitability, employment, and overall contribution to the regional economy through science and technology.
“Recognizing the vital role and impact of entrepreneurs in building the region, in this space, we celebrate and bring innovative entrepreneurship to the fore as a way of investing in the region’s future,” said Dr. Ma. Josefina Abilay, DOST regional director for MIMAROPA.
She added that DOST-MIMAROPA champions the entrepreneurs’ pursuit of innovation by inoculating them with pertinent science and technology (S&T) programs and services such as the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) and the Grants-In-Aid Program (GIA) for CBEs.
The two categories are: Core Category for SETUP-assisted MSMEs, which is further divided into Food and Non-food; and, Non-core Category for CBEs.
2018 Winners
For the Core Food category, C Yumul Jose Balutan (Occidental Mindoro) copped the first place. Through the electronically operated incubator provided by DOST-MIMAROPA, the firm has scaled up its production to a sizeable number of poultry eggs that enables it now to cater balut and salted eggs in Palawan, Antique and Oriental Mindoro over and above their own locality.
Meanwhile, Poctoy Automotive Services and Metal Works (Romblon) emerged as the winner in the Non-Food category. With various S&T assistance, the firm became the only automotive shop that offers computerized wheel alignment and automatic tire changing in Romblon, providing an upscale service to the car owners in the province.
In the Non-Core category, Catmon Farmers Multi-Purpose Association, Inc. (Oriental Mindoro) was hailed as the Best Technopreneur for its adoption of rice milling technologies that immensely ease the burden of the 53 member-farmers by allowing them to streamline the milling process and produce a much-superior quality of rice.
“Ang mga awards kagaya nito ang nagsisilbing inspirasyon at motibasyon upang magtagumpay ang aming negosyo. Makakaasa po kayo na mas lalo pa naming pagbubutihin ang aming tungkulin upang ito ay lumago at umunlad upang makatulong sa pag-unlad ng aming pamayanan at lalawigan (This award serves as our inspiration and motivation to succeed in our business. We promise to improve and do our best for our business to grow so we can, in turn, help our communities and our province),” exclaimed Elias Laberez, the general manager of Catmon Farmers Multi-Purpose Association, Inc.
The judges for the competition were Regional Technical Evaluation Committee (RTEC) members Dalisay DG Fernandez, Carmelita Reyes, Teresita Palomares, Robert Natividad and Dr. Rodolfo Plopino.
The complete list of the winners follows:
Core CategoryFood
1st Place C Yumul Jose Balutan (Occidental Mindoro)
2nd Place 3 Sisters’ Homemade Banana Chips (Marinduque)
3rd Place R-Ley Trading (Palawan)
Non-food
1st Place Poctoy Automotive Services and Metal Works (Romblon)
2nd Place Darnel’s Iron Works (Romblon)
3rd Place Sarmiento’s Welding Shop (Oriental Mindoro)
Non-Core Category
1st Place Catmon Farmers Multi-Purpose Association, Inc. (Oriental Mindoro)
2nd Place Barangay Nutrition Scholars-Odiongan (Romblon)
3rd Place Sta. Maria Food Processors (Romblon)
The winners of each category received a cash prize and a plaque of recognition.