DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development, Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, visited the Regional Research Center of UP Visayas today, May 6, 2022, for an update on its R&D on mollusks.
In 2019, UPV was one of the recipients of the DOST NICER-funded project called Mollusk Center for Research and Development. Through this, UPV became the Center for Mollusks Research, Development, and Extension. The purpose was to promote the importance of mollusks in the country and to jumpstart research that will potentially develop the mollusk industry.
During her interaction with the university officials and researchers, USEC Guevara asked important questions, including whether UPV has coordinated with the LGUs to come up with ordinances that will regulate the harvests of squids and mollusks in an easier manner without having to measure them. She also emphasized the importance of enabling ordinary fisherfolks to easily harvest squids and mollusks by themselves.
During this visit, UPV presented the output of its various projects under this program. One of the studies is on the biology and utilization of commercially-important mollusk species in Panay Island, Western Visayas. The university also undertook a comparison of glycogen yield from the Green Mussel (Perna viridis) using different extraction techniques. Another study involved the development and characteristics of bioactive protein and lipid products from mussels. The biology of Green Mussel (Perna viridis) cultivated through the long line method in mussel farms of Leyte, and the ecology and distribution of the invasive mussel species in the Philippines were also part of the studies undertaken.
USEC Guevara was received by Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension, Dr. Harold Monteclaro, along with Dr. Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols, Director of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) in UPV.
She turned over some books on the commercial transfer of technology to Chancellor Clement Camposano. She was also given a tour of the PGC laboratories by Dr. Ferriols.
