Month: February 2019

With the objective of utilizing nanotechnology in applied biotechnology research, the Livestock Biotechnology Center (LBC), headed by Dr. Claro N. Mingala, conducted the training entitled “Gold Colorimetric Nanosensor Technology” last February 21-23, 2019 at the Livestock Innovations and Biotechnology (LIB) Complex, Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), National Headquarters and Gene Pool.

Dr. Annabelle S. Sarabia, chief of the Research and Development Division (RDD), welcomed the 23 participants that took part in the said training. She emphasized the importance of the utilization of new technologies such as nanotechnology not only in future researches, but in real life application as well. Furthermore, it is imperative that such innovations be maximized to the fullest in order to fulfill the mandate of PCC: to conserve, propagate and promote the carabao as a source of milk, meat, draft power and hide to benefit the rural farmers.

Joram J. Gautane, DVM, focal person of the three-day event, introduced the benefits of nanotechnology, especially combined with the usage of the metal gold, which is said to be biocompatible, or in other words, not harmful to living things if properly used. Some of its benefits include the early detection of diseases such as the Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus (CAEV) in goats, with the test kits changing color depending on the absence or presence of the target DNA related to the disease, without the need of analysis equipment. These gold nanoparticles also possess the ability to facilitate the absorption of drugs into the body in order to target infected cells. However, the current challenge lies in converting such technology from its limitation to laboratory use to ready-to-use form. Added to that is the high cost of raw materials, with ¼ of a gram of the said material priced at Php10,000-Php15,000.

Nanotechnology has been identified to be one of the major areas of development in the scientific disciplines as convened by the Department of Science and Technology in 2008. Participants learned to synthesize gold nanoparticles at the LIB Complex laboratories, with the main focus on its usage in the diagnosis of animal diseases.

The Philippine Carabao Center National Headquarters and Gene Pool (PCCNHGP) has once again validated its commitment to continual improvement by successfully passing the Surveillance Audit on its Integrated Management Systems (ISO 9001:2015; ISO 14001:2015; OHSAS 18001:2007).

TUV SUD PSB Phils did the audit on February 18 and 19, 2019 confirming the agency’s compliance to customer requirements as well as legal and other requirements (LOR) in accordance with the three (3) management system standards (MSS).

PCCNHGP has been certified to ISO 9001 since 2003.  Certification to two more MSS (ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001) happened in 2012 to demonstrate its commitment to protect the environment as well as health and safety of its employees while creating quality products and rendering quality services.

Meanwhile, five (5) regional centers: PCC at Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU); PCC at Cagayan State University (CSU); PCC at University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB); PCC at Ubay Stock Farm (USF); and PCC at University of Southern Mindanao (USM) also got certified to ISO 9001 in 2011 and 2012.

The Management Systems Audit Team at the PCCNHGP is now working in close collaboration with of three (3) more regional centers: PCC at Central Luzon State University (CLSU); PCC at Central Mindanao University (CMU) and PCC at La Carlota Stock Farm (LCSF) for their certification within the year.  The rest will follow in 2020.

With a budget utilization rate (BUR) of 99.93%, the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) is awarded as the 3^rd top performer in terms of obligation among the seven attached agencies of the Department of Agriculture (DA) during the Fourth Quarter Assessment Meeting for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Fund Utilization held last February 8 at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) Convention Hall, Diliman, Quezon City.

The financial assessment meeting is held every quarter to evaluate the performance of the DA, its bureaus and attached agencies and corporations, in spending the national budget. This is anchored on the policy “Government Money Unspent is Service Undelivered”. Under Republic Act 10964, also known as the General Appropriations Act FY 2018, PCC received an allotment amounting to Php506,533,000, incurring obligations amounting to Php506,172,000, thus utilizing 99.93% of the given budget.

The performance ranking of the other attached agencies is as follows: 1^st: Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) with a BUR of 99.98%, 2^nd: Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) with a BUR of 99.97%, 4^th: Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) with a BUR of 99.11%, 5^th: National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) with a BUR of 93.72%, 6^th: Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) with a BUR of 93.49%, 7^th: Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) with a BUR of 91.85%.

The aforementioned award was later presented to the PCC community last February 11 during the weekly Monday meeting. Dr. Caro B. Salces, PCC Deputy Executive Director, recognized the efforts of everyone, especially the Administrative and Financial Management Division (AFMD), for achieving such a feat. He further mentioned that this was a testament to the steadfast commitment of PCC to one of its core values, excellence.

The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and representatives from its 12 regional centers gathered together to record, classify, summarize and interpret the results of the financial transactions for the year 2018 last January 21-25, 2019 at the Eusebio Hall.

Dr. Arnel N. Del Barrio, PCC Executive Director, reminded everyone of the issuance of Presidential Directive No. 2017-0318, which directs all government offices and instrumentalities to ensure that their transactions and contracts with suppliers and external parties are paid within 15 days, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations. He emphasized that this will promote transparency to the general public, ensuring that the government acts swiftly on the transactions it undertakes.

During the week-long activity, the participants engaged in the following tasks: (1) reconciliation of subsidy accounts and other intra-agency accounts; (2) preparation of adjusting entries for reconciling items; (3) preparation of the trial balance; (4) revaluation of biological assets; and (5) preparation of schedules in support to the notes in the financial statements and their consolidation.

Three personnel from the COA-Government Accountancy Sector, Accounting Systems Development and Other Services Office (ASDOSO), provided technical assistance on the enhanced Electronic New Government Accounting System (eNGAS) and Electronic Budget System (eBudget). Mr. Romeo C. Cruz gave an update on the recent developments of the aforementioned systems such as the added feature of being able to edit the supporting documents. This addressed the problem of having typographical errors in the reference numbers. Meanwhile, Ms. Michelle M. Gagarra and Ms. Sarah Joy M. Lambino, addressed concerns on the issues surrounding their usage, and updated them about the latest version.

Ms. Cherry Pearl C. Rivera, head of the Accounting Section of PCC-National Headquarters, recognized the vital role of every participant in the completion of the consolidated financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Commission on Audit (COA).