PHILSUTECH to Hold 2 Technical Trainings on February

As part of the continuing technical education of its members, the Philippine Sugar Technologists Association (PHILSUTECH) will hold the Seminar on Applied Technology on Bioenergy and Environmental Management (ATBEM) on February 4-5 and the Management Action Planning Workshop on February 6, both at Roy’s Hotel and Convention Center, Araneta Highway, Pahanocoy, Bacolod City.

The ATBEM seminar is spearheaded by PHILSUTECH Bioenergy & Environment Management Division Vice-President & Director Camilie C. Castaňeda and Director Karl Adam S. Go.

Topics and resource speakers on the first day (February 4) are:
• Optimized Yeast Strain Management in Distilleries by Engr. Dan Gatdula, Alcohol and Ancillary Product Manager of Progreen Agricorp; Recognizing the Unsung Heroes: Integrating the Informal Waste Sector into Formal Waste Systems by Catherine Orbien Executive Director of Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines (SWAPP);
• From Bottle to Bottle: Building a Circular Future through Leadership in Extended Producer Responsibility by Vanessa Lee Calixto, Manager of Coca Cola Sustainability and Regulatory Compliance; and
• From Food Waste to Energy: Biogas Technologies Driving the Circular Economy by Jeff Manos, Assistant Chief Consultant of MHE Biogas Technology and Waste Disposal Consultancy.

Seminar sponsors Fabcon Philippines, Roentgen Separation Technologies and Mega Engineering (Bio-methanated Spent Wash and Raw Spent Wash Evaporation Technologies) will conduct product presentations at intervals.

On the second day, Jerome Bugtong, Chief Chemist/CSS Manager of Progreen Agricorp, will conduct a “CO2 and Alcohol Sensory Workshop” in the morning, while the afternoon will be spent on a Plant Tour of the URC-La Carlota Distillery Plant.

The activity on February 6 is themed “Charting Our Industry’s Future: A Strategy Dialogue and Action Planning Workshop”, spearheaded by Philsutech Management Division Vice-Pres. & Dir. Engr. Ramonito V. Lastima and Vice-Chairperson Mary Ann C. Cangque.

Keynote speaker is former Sugar Regulatory Administrator, former Negros Occidental Governor and Provincial Consultant on Energy, Environment and Investment Promotions Rafael L. Coscolluela, with his presentation titled “The Philippine Sugar Industry at a Crossroads: Hard Realities, Strategic Options, and the Path Forward to the Future”.

Other resource speakers and their topics are Engr. Paul Wellen B. Orocio and Engr. Cristina Ruth B. Desuyo, OIC Head of Negros Island Region Environmental Management Bureau Compliance and Permitting Division and Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement Division, respectively, who will discuss “The High Cost of Wastewater: Avoiding EMB Violations, Mill Shutdowns, and Community Backlash; Real Risks, Real Costs and Real Solutions for Wastewater; and Effluent and Environmental Compliance in Sugar Milling”; and, Atty. Ann Nanette P. Cruz, Labor Arbiter of the National Labor Relations Commission – Negros Island Region, will talk about “Agency Workers as Regular Employees? Confronting the New Legal Realities: How Recent Supreme Court Rulings are Redefining and Disrupting Employment, Labor Contracting, and Financial Liabilities in the Sugar Industry”.

For inquiries, interested parties may contact the Philsutech Secretariat at telephone numbers 4343013 (fax) and 4348217 or email philsutech@gmail.com.*