Dr. Sailila Estilong Abdula, chief science research specialist and designated acting director of the PhilRice Midsayap branch station in North Cotabato, has been handpicked by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol as the Acting Executive Director of PhilRice effective August 2016.
Abdula, 44, son of West Patadon, Matalam, North Cotabato obtained his PhD in Agriculture, major in plant genetics, from Chungbuk National University in Korea in 2012. As a rice breeder, he helped develop NSIC Rc120 and Rc226 to address the tungro rice disease in Southern Mindanao.
He started working as junior researcher at PhilRice in September 1996 after finishing in 1995 his BS in Agriculture (cum laude) from the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato. He earned his master’s degree in plant breeding from UP Los Banos. He also finished Master in Development Management in the Development Academy of the Philippines.
