The guest of honor during the opening ceremonies was Atty. Alberto T. Muyot, Undersecretary for Legal Service of the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) who was represented by his Chief of Staff Atty. Jemirose R. Luot. In his message, Atty. Muyot emphasized the alignment of SEARCA's programs and activities with the SEAMEO Seven Priority Areas, particularly in addressing barriers to inclusion, promoting harmonization in higher education and research, developing curriculum that responds to the competency requirements of the 21st century, and promoting technical and vocational education and training as it relates to agriculture.
Comprised of representatives from the 11 SEAMEO member countries, the GB serves as SEARCA's highest policymaking body, which provides general directions and strategies to the Center in promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD) in Southeast Asia.
In the meeting, Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA Director and ex-officio member of the GB, presented SEARCA's accomplishments in the immediate past fiscal year, which were lauded by the GB members and the representative from DepEd.
This year's GBM was attended by representatives from seven countries including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Dr. Tinsiri Sirbodhi, Deputy Director for Administration and Communication of SEAMEO Secretariat (SEAMES), also attended the meeting as ex-officio member of the SEARCA GB.
