UP Visayas has received two checks amounting to Php400,000 from the Iloilo Provincial Government last Feb. 7, 2025. These checks will fund two research projects of the university. 

The two UPV projects were “Sea-based Nursery System for Tissue-cultured Seaweeds” led by Dr. Iris Ann G. Borlongan and “Profiling and Microbial Assessment of Native Delicacies for Sustainable Food System Strategies in Iloilo” headed by Dr. Johannes Magpusao. 

On behalf of the Iloilo Provincial Government, the checks were released by Provincial Tourism Officer Gilbert Marin and Provincial Agriculture Office head, Dr. Ildefonso Toledo, together with Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) head Valme Lujan, PPDO research staff Soljane Catague and Executive Assistant Atty. Artem Ron Raymundo. 

Dr. Borlongan, one of the project leaders and assistant to the VCRE, represented UPV and received the checks for these two-funded projects. 

The support of the local government to the university gave birth to more collaborative engagements in advancing research, development, and innovation and in leveraging science and research-based information from the academe and translating it into policies and projects that will benefit the general public.