“If we internalize our mandate and live by it, we will realize our worth in the organization, our importance as an individual and how we are going to function as a team,” said reappointed assistant director Joell H. Lales to DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) employees as he rallies them to work in harmony to efficiently do their respective jobs in the bureau and effectively serve its R4D stakeholders especially the farmers and fisherfolk.
Lales, who was reappointed Director III (Assistant Director) on 2 June 2023, also thanked the employees for their support during his incumbency as OIC-director of DA-BAR from 24 October 2022 to 2 May 2023.
Lales was a four-time awardee as Outstanding DA-BAR Employee under different categories since he joined the bureau in January of 2004 as Agriculturist II. He later assumed various designations such as senior executive assistant and planning officer, until he became chief agriculturist in 2011 and headed the Program Development Division until 2020 when he was designated OIC-assistant director. He was appointed full pledged assistant director in March 2022 and was designated OIC-director in October 2022.
His expertise in the field of research management, policy studies, institutional development, and project development and implementation enabled him to contribute valuable inputs in elevating the level of services of the bureau and benefited our partners and stakeholders in the agri-fisheries sector.
As a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture graduate from the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Banos, Master of Technology Management from UP Diliman, ongoing student of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Sciences at Pampanga State Agricultural University and having served various designations in the bureau, he is equipped with knowledge and in-depth experience on organizational management and supervision which made him effectively and efficiently performed his designated tasks.
During his term as OIC-director, he set to implement a pro-farmer, pro-poor agenda through industry- and market-driven technology innovations, scaling up of best-bet technology-based interventions, prioritizing the poorest provinces in the country and partnering with the private sector in implementing R4D programs.
He now sets to pursue the DA-BAR Enhanced R4D Directions under the leadership of reappointed director Dr. Junel B. Soriano. He ensures director Soriano that he has a one big DA-BAR family to support his leadership, with future leaders inspired by him and who will continue to work hard for the bureau.
Assistant director Lales believes in every employee’s skill and talent and trusts them that they can do their jobs well in serving the R4D stakeholders. He asked the employees to break whatever barriers they encounter in performing their tasks efficiently and effectively.
“In my more than two decades of service in the bureau, I have seen how hardworking the DA-BAR employees and officials are, and this assures us that whoever heads this bureau can rely on its employees to fulfill its given mandate by working harmoniously as a team,” he said.