BAYBAY CITY, LEYTE — A five-member team of students from Visayas State University (VSU), competing as Team Agreeculture, captured both First Place and the People’s Choice Award in the "Ano ang Kwentong DOSTv Mo?" Online Video Contest on August 19, 2026. Beating out nine other national entries, the student filmmakers were honored during DOSTv’s 10th-anniversary celebration, centered around the theme "Kwento ng Agham, Kwento ng Bayan."
Highlighting Agricultural Tech Through Film
Titled Hagnot ng Bukas, the winning short video highlights the daily labor of Filipino abaca farmers and illustrates how science and engineering offer solutions to their most pressing agricultural challenges. The narrative features two prominent technological innovations developed through VSU's National Abaca Research Center (NARC):
Abaca Tissue Culture: Advanced propagation techniques designed to yield healthier, disease-resistant plant varieties.
Abaca Power Stripper Machine: An agricultural processing technology developed by Dr. Feliciano G. Sinon, Director of VSU’s Innovation Office, built to reduce manual labor and accelerate fiber extraction.
Student Talent Behind the Production
Despite discovering the competition just two weeks prior to the submission deadline and managing technical constraints like mobile phone storage and processing lags, the team produced and submitted their entry on time. The student roster includes:
Mary Elizabeth D. Santillan (BSA-1): Director, scriptwriter, cinematographer, and editor.
AL Jaymer Sabando (BSDC-2): Videographer and actor.
Gwen A. Lao (ABELS-2), John Mark M. Milafor (BSA-2), and Gellwin: On-screen actors and support crew.
Directress Mary Elizabeth Santillan shared that the project aimed to honor agricultural workers while demonstrating how technology empowers rural livelihoods. The team received ₱20,000 for their first-place finish along with a ₱5,000 cash prize for the People's Choice Award, expressing gratitude to the VSU student body and local abaca farmers who supported their campaign.
