- DEPDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan receives the prestigious 2026 OSSA Award for Research, decades after his own graduate studies under a SEARCA scholarship.
- Balisacan highlights that agricultural transformation must be paired with investments in rural education, health, connectivity, and social protection to uplift families across Southeast Asia.
- Marking 60 years of SEARCA and 10 years of the OSSA Awards, the ceremony also recognized leaders from Thailand and Cambodia for excellence in public service and teaching.
Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan has been awarded the 2026 Outstanding SEARCA Scholarship Alumni (OSSA) Award for Research. The accolade marks a milestone return to his academic roots, coming more than 40 years after he earned a Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) scholarship.
Balisacan earned his Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños in 1982 through the DAAD-SEARCA Scholarship Programme. He was honored for his extensive contributions to advancing agricultural innovation, strengthening institutions, empowering rural communities, and improving livelihoods across Southeast Asia through research, academia, and public governance.
“A scholarship can change one person’s path, as it helped change mine. Through the work of its scholars and alumni, that opportunity can reach a classroom, a research team, a public agency, and eventually a rural community. This is how a personal achievement can become a contribution to development,” Balisacan remarked during his acceptance.
Addressing fellow researchers, scholars, and policy leaders at the SEARCA Scholars and Alumni Conference held on October 20 in Los Baños, Balisacan emphasized the need to apply academic rigor to the region’s dynamic socioeconomic challenges. He noted that while food security and agricultural efficiency remain foundational, long-term rural growth requires broader support systems.
“Food security and agricultural transformation remain central to Southeast Asia’s development,” Balisacan stated. “We must help farming offer better livelihoods while widening the paths available to rural families, including those whose aspirations lead them beyond the farm.”
Reflecting on SEARCA’s six-decade legacy of human capital investment, the chief economist urged current scholars and development practitioners to pay their opportunities forward: “The agricultural futures we seek will take shape through the research we undertake, the institutions we strengthen, and the opportunities we help others create.”
The ceremony also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the OSSA Awards. SEARCA additionally recognized three other distinguished alumni for exceptional contributions to regional development:
- Dr. Weerapon Thongma (Public Service and Community Development)
- Dr. Asikin Yoeu (Public Service and Community Development)
- Dr. Prasong Tanpichai (Teaching)