TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, October 24, 2025 — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Cagayan Valley reaffirmed its commitment to empowering cooperatives through science, technology, and innovation (STI) as it joined the City Government of Tuguegarao in celebrating the 1st Tuguegarao City Cooperative Development Summit held recently in the city.
The event, spearheaded by the Cooperative and Livelihood Development Office (CLDO), gathered cooperative leaders, partner regional line agencies, and local government officials.
It aimed to strengthen partnerships, promote innovation, and advance inclusive and sustainable growth among cooperatives.
DOST Region 02 Director Dr. Virginia G. Bilgera presented the Department’s key programs that directly support cooperatives and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
She highlighted flagship initiatives such as SETUP 4.0, OneLab, OneExpert, the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program, and Innovation for Filipinos Working Distantly from the Philippines (iFWD PH).
These programs aim to enhance productivity, provide access to modern technologies, and offer technical expertise and funding support to local enterprises.
Dr. Bilgera also emphasized DOST’s continued collaboration with the City Government and the newly established Tuguegarao City Cooperative Development Council.
Members of the council took their oath during the summit, pledging to promote innovation, collaboration, and good governance within the cooperative movement.
“𝑊𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒. 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠—𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑,” said Dr. Bilgera.
As the summit concluded, Dr. Bilgera reaffirmed DOST’s mission to make ‘Agham na Ramdam’ a reality across Cagayan Valley.
The event also reflected Tuguegarao City’s strong commitment to cooperative empowerment and development. With DOST as a steadfast partner, the city continues to champion innovation, productivity, and shared prosperity for all.
