Edilberto M. De Luna, assistant secretary of the Department of Agriculture accepts the challenge of leading PhilRice as he was designated officer-in-charge of the institute upon the retirement of former Executive Director Eufemio T. Rasco Jr., Feb. 3.  Asec De Luna

Rasco turned 65 on Feb. 3. The search for the new executive director is ongoing.

“I accept the challenge being assigned as OIC of PhilRice until a new executive director is selected. There is a need to continue what you have achieved,” de Luna, also the DA National Rice and Corn Program coordinator, said.

During the turnover ceremony of PhilRice leadership, De Luna thanked Rasco for his service to the Filipino people and praised the institute for having the “best human resource.”
“Let us work together because whatever success PhilRice has, we are all part of it,” he added.

De Luna rose from the ranks from Agriculturist I in 1987, Division Chief in 1999, to Regional Manager in 2005, all in the Philippine Coconut Authority. Pres. Benigno Aquino III appointed him in 2010 as DA Assistant Secretary for Field Operations and concurrently serves as the director of the National Rice and Corn Programs.

He also chair working committees in DA including the Special Bids and Awards, Gawad Saka, Community-based Employment, NGOs/POs Accreditation, and Transition Investment Support for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

De Luna is also an alternate representative of the Secretary of Agriculture to the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster and a permanent representative to the Joint Government of the Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Sajahatra Bangsamoro Development Program. He is also part of the Advisory Board of the National Youth Commission.

He is an agriculture graduate of the Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation in Lucena City, Quezon and has a master’s degree in business administration from the same university.

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Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is a government corporate entity attached to the Department of Agriculture created through Executive Order 1061 on 5 November 1985 (as amended) to help develop high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies so farmers can produce enough rice for all Filipinos.

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Philippine Rice Research Institute