LEGAZPI CITY - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Catanduanes will fund abaca-related research in a bid to help and support the staging of the 6th Abaca Festival on May 24-28 in the province, which was recently declared as the "Abaca Capital of the Philippines". Engr. Marie Grace Molina, DOST-Catanduanes director, in a follow-up interview on Tuesday, said the funding will be received by the winners in the "Search for the Noblest Catandunganon Researcher". "This competition will provide an opportunity for the researchers to present new ideas and concepts related to abaca products and technologies," Molina said. She said the competition is open to all Catanduanes residents. "All proposal entries submitted must be original and anchored to the purpose of Abaca Festival celebration which is to honor and value the culture as well as the abacaleros or abaca farmers," she added. The project proposal concept must be correlated to at least one of the three categories -- product development, process modification, technology -- and equipment development. It must also include the project title, target beneficiaries, objectives, rationale, methodology, budget plan, and expected output. Molina said the soft copy of the official entry must be submitted through the email address dostcatanduanes@gmail.com on or before May 20, 2022, together with the names of group members, if there are any. The winners will be announced on May 25. The winning entries of the Top 3 contenders will be submitted to the DOST-5 regional office in Legazpi City for evaluation. Molina said the approved proposals "will undergo a regional evaluation to determine the final cost of the project proposal." She noted that if the project cost will be a maximum of PHP3 million, the DOST-Bicol will provide the funding. "If more than PHP3 million, we will refer to other funding institutes of DOST, either in Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), or Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), depende po sa kung anong klaseng research category ma-fall. Kung sa energy po pero abaca related pa din pwede sa PCIEERD, or kung pharmaceuticals naman sa PCHRD or kung sa agriculture then sa PCAARRD po. (depending on what research category it will fall. If it is about energy but abaca-related, it will be PCIEERD, if it is pharmaceuticals, it will be to PCHRD, and if it is on agriculture, it will be to PCAARRD)," she added. Aside from the project funds, the winners will also receive the following prices: 1st Place - PHP5,000; 2nd Place - PHP4,000; and 3rd Place - PHP3,000. (PNA) }