BICUTAN TAGUIG CITY - The Scientific Career System (SCS) upgraded Dr. Manuel Jose C. Regalado, Chief Science Research Specialist at the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice), to Scientist II rank effective February 8, 2023.
Dr. Manuel Jose C. Regalado led a PhilRice engineering research team in developing crude bioethanol and hydrous bioethanol distillation systems, which were pilot-tested at a farmer-adopter’s site in Infanta, Quezon. Their crude bioethanol distiller powered by rice husk was named the grand prize winner of the Alfredo M. Yao Intellectual Property (AMY IP) Award in 2018 by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). The machine produces crude bioethanol from fermented feedstock using rice husk as an alternative fuel. The AMY IP Award recognizes "Filipino-owned intellectual properties that have contributed or have the potential to contribute to economic development," as well as opportunities for IPs to be presented to potential investors for product commercialization.
Dr. Regalado also led in developing a multi-crop, reduced-till planter (MCRTP), which has nine (9) rows with an effective width and a field capacity of 2-3 ha/day. He also actively participated in the development of a ride-on boat tiller, which was tested for rapid puddling of lowland paddy fields. Aside from being granted an invention patent and a license to commercialize, the riding-type boat tiller was also issued to a local farm machinery manufacturer.
Since 2017, Dr. Regalado has led the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) funded project "WateRice," in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), that developed the AutoMonPH, an automated monitoring system for measuring paddy field water level to improve water management based on alternate wetting and drying irrigation technology, and an AutoMonPH-based irrigation advisory service. He presented the project research results at the 2019 Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) in Boston, USA, and published them in a Web of Science journal.
Dr. Regalado was recognized as an Outstanding Researcher by PhilRice in 2018 and as a Regional Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awardee in 2019 by the Civil Service Commission National Capital Region (CSC NCR). He is among the 14 active career scientists in DA-PhilRice.
The SCS is a system of recruitment, career progression, and recognition that rewards scientists rank in the government service to develop a pool of highly qualified and productive scientific personnel. The system is co-implemented by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), with the CSC Chairman and DOST Secretary serving as Co-chairs of the Scientific Career Council. The SCS program is now administered by the NAST PHL.