Ex-UP President Javier joins PH’s National Scientists roster

The former UP president, the proclamation read, “led and promoted sound agricultural policies and programs, massive utilization of climate resilient and environment friendly agricultural innovations, and improved governance and management systems to help improve the livelihood of Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.” (File photo: University of the Philippines/Facebook)

A former president of the University of the Philippines (UP) is joining the list of National Scientists in the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte conferred the title to Dr. Emil Q. Javier through Proclamation No. 781 signed on August 2 but released only on Thursday, August 8.

Javier, who spearheaded the Institute of Plant Breeding that “popularized high-yielding crops and disease-resistant varieties,” was honored for his “outstanding contributions to the progress of science and technology” in and outside the country.

The former UP president, the proclamation read, “led and promoted sound agricultural policies and programs, massive utilization of climate resilient and environment friendly agricultural innovations, and improved governance and management systems to help improve the livelihood of Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.”

“In the pursuit of his lifelong mission to look after the need of the poor by capitalizing on the resources of modern science, [Javier] played an active role in the efforts to inform the public about the nature of science and its potential to improve people’s access to food and health, and to emphasize the need for high safety standards in both research and production of biotechnological innovations,” it added.

Javier was UP’s 17th president from 1993 to 1999.

He finished his bachelor’s degree in agriculture at the UP Los Baños, his master’s degree in agronomy at the University of Illinois, and his doctorate in plant breeding and genetics at the Cornell University.

The title of National Scientist is considered to be the highest honor given by the President to a Filipino man or woman of science in the country. National Scientists are recommended annually by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the highest recognition and advisory body on science and technology.