Planning-workshop and hosting of the Philippine International Biomass conference

Philippines, an agricultural country, has subscribed amount of biomass resources, which could be used for power generation and biofuel production. The government highlighted this when Republic Act 9367, also known as 'The Biofuels Act of 2006, was implemented. In support to this, the University of the Philippines Los Baños-Interdisciplinary Biofuels Research Studies Center (UPLB-IBRSCI). In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR). Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Energy (DOE), launched the 2015 Philippine International Biomass Conference to address certain issues on biomass resources in the country. A Planning-Workshop for the event was conducted from April 21-24 2015 at the Atlantic Hall, Convention Center of Widus Hotel and Casino, Clark, Pampanga. The conference Director Dr. Myra G. Briones, UPLB-IBRSC Chair Prof. Rex B. Dimafelis. DA-BAR Director Dr. Nicomedes P. Eleazar headed the activities for the workshop. Present were members of UPLB-IBRSC and staff of DA-BAR. Committees were formed and each formulated plans and strategies for the conduct of the conference. Aside from planning, team building and social's night were also held to boost synergy among organizers of this event. The logistics committee also had their ocular inspection of the venue and its surrounding vicinity. The 2015 Philippine International Biomass Conference was held on June 16-18, 2015 at the Convention Center of Widus Hotel. This event aimed to discuss the Philippine roadmap on bioenergy industry, present the recent technological innovations in the bioenergy industry, establish bonds and synergies among the different sectors in the bioenergy industry, promote the use of biomass and increase knowledge with the importance of bioenergy. Speakers were from the academe, local and international biofuels companies, industries, government agencies and banking and financial institutions. Press conference, open forums, cocktail and business matching activities were also conducted on the second day while a plant visit at San Jose City 1 Power, Nueva Ecija was held in the third day. There were a total of 324 people present during the first day while 423 people during the second day. Most attendees are from the industry, government agencies and local government units.