'WHEN I was interviewed by the executive director search committee in September 2015, they asked me about my plans. I only had one – make NRCP visible in all regions and make an army of scientists and artists in all the provinces of the country. I had my 'hugot' because I came from the province (Leyte) and NRCP was not known, as in, never heard, by most in the academe.'

This was shared by Marieta Bañez Sumagaysay (MBS), former director of the Department of Science and Technology-National Research Council of the Philippines (DoST-NRCP) and currently Professor 12 of Economics, UP Visayas Tacloban College, when she was asked how NRCP was able to leap significantly in terms of membership, research and development (R&D) outputs, and visibility under her leadership.