Senate of the Philippines recognizes Dr. Ricardo Orge for winning the 2017 Manila Water Foundation Prize for Engineering Excellence through a resolution, authored by Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, as adopted in a session held last May 21, 2018.
The resolution commends Dr. Orge not only for winning the Prize but also, for his valuable contributions in the field of agriculture. Through his works with PhilRice, he was able to help Filipino farmers adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
One of the notable works of Dr. Orge is a machine called Continuous-type Rice Hull (CtRH) Carbonizer. Designed to recover the heat generated from the carbonization process with the intention of reusing it in various farm applications, CtRH maximizes the income-generating activities of the farmers, at the same time, reducing their dependency on fossil fuel.
An initiative of the Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Technological Council (PTC), the MWF Prize for Engineering Excellence is a nationwide search for engineers and scientists who manifest excellent engineering and scientific competence in projects that champion water, sanitation, environment, and sustainability. As part of the Prize’s activities, Dr. Orge will be going around the country in various events to share his inventions with fellow professionals, innovators, and students in the science and engineering fields.
As such, on May 25, Dr. Orge was among the invited speakers at the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) workshop on Measuring Environmental Performance Indicators to discuss how the CtRH works and how it can help address environmental issues. Through the workshop, participants were encouraged towards mitigating the harmful effects of their activities on the environment.