December 2, 2020
Honored guests,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) commemorates today its 22nd anniversary. I personally thank all of you for joining us today, physically and virtually, as we celebrate the milestones of the Bureau in the last two decades.
Despite the substantial accomplishment with very lean resources, BAFS has fully demonstrated its valuable contribution to the Department's efforts of producing safe and globally competitive agri-fishery commodities standards.
Persistent endeavors in developing national standards aligned with international commitments has resulted to 12 standards adopted this year. We also remain relevant as we developed food safety guidelines responsive to COVID-19 pandemic.
In this time of constant battle with fake information, we commit to constantly improve our capacity to provide you with reliable information based on available scientific data. BAFS will ensure active sharing of reliable data and information through strong monitoring and evaluation systems.
We are proud to say that we remain true to our commitments as we refuse to let the new normal to slow us down. We embraced the challenges as an opportunity. We optimized what modern technologies have to offer.
We will share our success with all of you as without your active involvement, these efforts will not be at all possible. We do our best when we do it together. You bear witness as we pledge to you that we will continue to enhance our system through active learning and proactive collaboration.
Again, I take this opportunity to welcome you and thank you all for observing this celebration.
Magandang umaga.