The annual celebration of National Biotechnology Week begins today with the theme "Making Biotechnology Work for You."

Cognizant of the positive contributions of biotechnology to society and how the scientific advances in the field have helped sustain growth and development, Presidential Proclamation No. 1414 designated the last week of November as National Biotechnology Week. The declaration hopes to maintain the country’s status as one of the "mega countries" using biotechnology as a strategy for development.

Biotechnology is widely used in the Philippines. Biotechnological applications have increased crop yields and farm productivity and enhanced the quality, value, and suitability of crops for food and other uses. Biotechnology has helped in the development of vaccines, antibiotics, and other drugs that cannot be made in any other way. In crime investigations and the administration of justice, biotechnology is used by way of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analyses and similar DNA technologies.

Biotechnology involves "the use of microorganisms, such as bacteria or yeasts, or biological substances, such as enzymes, to perform specific industrial or manufacturing processes." Its applications range from the production of certain drugs, synthetic hormones, and bulk foodstuffs to the bioconversion of organic waste and the use of genetically altered bacteria in the cleanup of oil spills, among others.

The celebration of the Fourth National Biotechnology Week serves to remind us to use of scientific knowledge and tools, especially biotechnology, responsibly.

People should exert conscious efforts to ensure that these tools do not compromise the safety and well-being of people but result in an improved quality of life for every Filipino.