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By Heherson P. Valdez
IN PHOTO: Mr. Romeo M. Javate, Division Chief of Investment and Business Operation Division, DOST-TAPI; Dr. Joel C. Magday, Jr., SSD Chief, Philippine Science High School Cagayan Valley Campus; Engr. Jonathan D. Nuestro, Provincial Director, PSTO Nueva Vizcaya; and ClusteRICE 2025 Northern Luzon Finalists. Photo courtesy of Russel Owen B. Viloria from PSHS - CVC
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya – The final leg of the search for the country’s best and brightest local innovations through the Regional Invention Contest and Exhibit by Cluster (ClusteRICE) 2025, spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology – Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI), was successfully concluded on October 14–15, 2025, at the Philippine Science High School – Cagayan Valley Campus.
After a rigorous evaluation of proposals and pitching sessions, Northern Luzon innovators emerged as the final batch of national qualifiers who will join other regional winners in competing at the highly anticipated National Invention Contest and Exhibit (NICE) 2026 in Manila.
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By Heherson Valdez
IN PHOTO: Launching and Turnover of HANDA PILIPINAS: Innovations in Climate and Disaster Resilience Guidebook (From left to right) Asec. Napoleon K. Juanillo, Jr., DOST Assistant Secretary for Technology Transfer, Communications, and Commercialization; Dr. Teodoro M. Gatchalian, DOST Undersecretary for Special Concerns; Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr., DOST Secretary; and Engr. Maria Theresa Bien De Guzman, DOST Assistant Secretary for Countryside Development, together with partners from key agencies and national government.
Zamboanga City, Philippines — As the country continues to face increasing threats from natural hazards, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), together with its partner agencies, launched the HANDA PILIPINAS 2025 Mindanao Leg with the theme “Kabalikat sa Matatag, Maginhawa, at Panatag na Mindanao” on September 23–25, 2025. The event underscored the crucial role and partnerships between government agencies, communities, and private partners in working together to reduce disaster risks and strengthen the country’s resilience.
Mindanao’s experience with catastrophic calamities calls for the urgency of such initiatives. The island has witnessed some of the nation’s most devastating disasters: the Magnitude 7.5 earthquake of September 21, 1897, and the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami, which claimed thousands of lives, remain grim reminders of the region’s vulnerability. More recent events, such as the 2019 Cotabato and Davao del Sur earthquakes, Tropical Storm Paeng (Nalgae) in 2022, which caused massive flooding and landslides in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, killing at least 63 people from the region, and the 2024 Cagayan de Oro landslide, highlight how communities continue to face evolving disaster risks.
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