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Archives
February 1-28, 2003
BAR directorship is now Medrano's
responsibility
by Rita T dela Cruz
A change gently rocked the Bureau of Agricultural
Research (BAR) as Dr. Eliseo Ponce ended his five-year
term of leadership to give way to Dr. William Medrano.
The handing over of responsibility was made official
during a formal turnover ceremony on 17 February 2003
at the BPI Seed Lab Conference Room. The occasion was
attended by the staff of the Bureau, the national team
leaders, and representatives from the Regional Integrated
Agricultural Research Centers (RIARCs) and other support
groups of BAR.
Highlighting Dr. Ponce's farewell speech
were five important points that, according to him, were
attributed to the great transformation of the Bureau,
namely: I) setting high standards of performance; 2)
participatory decision-making and transparency of budget
allocation; 3) establishment of a planning, monitoring,
and evaluation system; 4) focusing on the core values
of the Bureau; and 5) investing in the advancement of
information technology.
According to Dr. Ponce, these key points
served as his central instruments in molding what the
Bureau is today. What he did during the past years of
his management was to
introduce seeds of changes with great optimism that
in the end, the Bureau is able to reap the fruits of
these changes. He also emphasized that although he is
leaving the Bureau, he has no "heartaches"
with the Department of Agriculture. He simply puts the
whole situation as that of a daughter who is about to
get married; Dr. Medrano as the groom and he as the
father. He asked the new director to take good care
of his daughter, now that she'll be under his supervision.
In response, Dr. Medrano recognized the
remarkable achievements of the past management of Dr.
Ponce and added that "taking over Dr. Ponce's responsibility
is much easier now because I have lesser things to do."
Providing the closing remarks for the
occasion was DA Undersecretary for Policy, Planning,
and Research Arsenio Balisacan. He acknowledged the
achievements of Dr. Ponce and mentioned that the past
years have been a great witness to the transformation
of BAR as an institution that evolved from mediocrity
to what it is now. He added that, BAR has achieved a
place in the arena of international agricultural research
excellence and hoped that with the new management under
the leadership of Dr. Medrano, it will be able to sustain
its good reputation in the research communities. 
February 1-28 2003 Articles: ::
BAR director sets down 7-point agenda
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BAR strategically charts plan for 2003
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BAR directorship is now Medrano's responsibility
::
State of the Art: Agricultural Commodity Research
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Luzon Zonal Research Center readies for action
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Medrano chairs CABI’s executive council
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Seeds of change: lessons learned
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Coping with El Niño the Isabela way
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Cracking the coconut oil myth
::: More February 2003 articles :::
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