From the support to dissemination, Director Marissa N. Estrella covered all topics related to the Bicol Consortium for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (BCAARRD) during Radyo Veritas' program prompting the host to call the consortium a “Total Package.”

Dir. Estrella was the guest speaker in the radio program organized in partnership with Bicol University (BU) and BU-Extension Management Division (BU-EMD).

The said radio program dubbed “Programang Pang-Edukasyon at Pangkabuhayan”, ran for an hour and was aired live at Radyo Veritas' station and Facebook page including at the DCTV network with live streaming at the BU and BU-EMD Facebook pages.

The said program is part of the extension services of BU that airs every Thursday, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM with Professor Edgar Barrameda as the host.

Dir. Estrella discussed the topic “BCAARRD's Research, Development and Extension Endeavors.” She discoursed the start of BCAARRD and explained how the consortium works.

With a total of 22 Consortium Member Institutions (CMIs), BCAARRD aims to be the dynamic leader in Science and Technology (S&T) development, management and governance for inductive industries in the Bicol Region.

The goal of the Consortium is to effectively utilize research results in attaining the goals of sustainable regional development. Its mission also includes to institutionalize and promote integrated S&T, supportive to the regional and national development.

Dir. Estrella also discussed how the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) look for the 6 P's, namely: Products, Publication, Patent, People and Services, Places and Partnership and, Policy. She stressed the importance of each P and reminded aspiring researchers and developers the importance of patenting their inventions.

Benefits and ownership were also highlighted as products of patenting, as well as the royalties and recognition. This was emphasized as Dir. Estrella observed how Filipinos are not so keen in patenting their products.

On the other hand, BCAARRD's activities were also presented and the BCAARRD Director invited researchers to join the Consortium's upcoming event on Statistical Analysis.

Furthermore, participants for the hands-on trainings of one of BCAARRD Monitored projects, The Pili NICER Program, were also encouraged to join. These are all part of the consortium's Capability Building.

Dir. Estrella stated that BCAARRD will still progress with along with its CMIs despite restrictions.

“Despite COVID, we are moving forward.” She added. (written by Julianne Nicolle G. Moral, SRA, BCAARRD)