THE RDLead Program finally covered all the 17 regions of the country following the approval of request for an RD Leader from Mindoro State University and the application for RD Leader of Dr. Mark Angelo Balendres last July.

MIMAROPA is the latest region to receive an RD Leader in one of its institutions.

Dr. Balendres, who belongs to NRCP Division VI Agriculture and Forestry, hails from the Institute of Plant Breeding–College of Agriculture and Food Science of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. He is set to train and capacitate the researchers at Mindoro State University in plant pathology research.

MinSU currently lacks the capability in this area, which it needs in the conduct of its research involving calamansi, an important agricultural crop in Mindoro Island.

Dr. Balendres is the 42nd RD Leader engaged under the program, with MinSU as the 40th institution with an RD Leader and the first institution in MIMAROPA to receive one.

Camiguin’s first DOST-SEI JLSS scholar now teaches Mathematics to college students

Rotch Getrude Bagolbol, a former DOST-SEI scholar in Camiguin, becomes a Professional Licensed Teacher possessing expertise in advanced mathematics.

Bagolbol has been serving as college instructor in Camiguin Polytechnic State College for two years.

Aside from Algebra, she also teaches Integral Calculus and Differential Calculus to education, engineering, and business administration students in various year levels. She likewise teaches General Education Courses like Mathematics in the Modern World and Science Technology and Society.

Her exemplary undergraduate grades and current excellent performance as a teacher garnered her a medal and certificate on Proficiency in Student Teaching awarded by Fatima College of Camiguin in 2018.

Bagolbol is the lone Junior Level Science Scholarship in the Island on 2017. According to her, the JLSS Scholarship helped her and her family surpass financial struggles as a student, and later played a big role as an advantage during her application as college instructor.

She hopes to further increase her knowledge as a DOST Scholar on her Master’s Degree when the pandemic restrictions loosen up.