To acknowledge the role of journalists in promoting advancements in biotechnology, the 2007 Jose G. Burgos Jr. Awards for Biotech Journalism will be giving citations for biotechnology-related stories published in national newspapers.

This year’s awards will honor the best stories featuring biotechnology that were published from August 2006 to July 2007 in newspapers with a national circulation.

The Biotechnology for Life Media and Advocacy Resource Center (BMARC) launched the Jose G. Burgos Jr. Awards for Biotech Journalism in 2005 to honor the late Jose G. Burgos Jr., a journalist who was also a passionate farmer.

Now on its third year, the contest motivates journalists to pursue biotechnology reporting and become key partner in the promotion of biotechnology.

The project continues Joe Burgos’ ideals of promoting modern scientific breakthroughs among farmers and educating them of the benefits of biotechnology in increasing their yield and income.

Joe Burgos was a press freedom fighter admired for his pursuit of truth. Even after leaving the publishing sector he continued his inquiry and search for truth in the fight for food security and helping impoverished Filipino farmers, this time leading him to become an advocate of biotechnology for agriculture. Burgos persistently carried his mission of farmers’ use of biotechnology to propagate healthier crops until his death.

This year’s prizes are for the Best News Story and Best Feature Story. First Prize will be P30,000, second prize P20,000 and third prize will be P10,000 for each individual category. Plaques will be awarded to the winners and the five finalists of the contest.

A plaque of recognition as the Best Print Media Institution will be given to the newspaper which carried the most number of biotech stories.

The awarding ceremonies will be held on November 29, 2007 at 7 p.m. at the Balay Kalinaw of UP Diliman in Quezon City.

The 2007 Jose G. Burgos Jr. Awards for Biotech Journalism will be held in partnership with Samahang Plaridel, an association of veteran journalists, and the Philippine Science Journalists Association, Inc. (PSciJourn), an association of journalists for the promotion of science, including biotechnology.

Other cooperating agencies for the contest include the Department of Agriculture – Biotechnology Program, Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) – Department of Science and Technology, and the J. Burgos Media Services, Inc.

View other news stories in the latest issue (November 2007) of BIONet Pilipinas, click here. <http://biotechforlife.com.ph/bionetnov/index.htm>