CBA Students Clinch 3rd Runner-up with Agri Advocacy Project in ASEAN Future Sustainable Leaders Competition 2025

Oct. 14, 2025

Students from the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA) clinched 3rd Runner-Up in the ASEAN Future Sustainable Leaders Competition (AFSLC) with their project “Pamanang Tumana: A Farmer’s Legacy.” The national-level contest, held on October 4, 2025, brought together accounting students from across the Philippines to present innovative, multidisciplinary solutions to challenges aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Anchored on the theme “Empowering ASEAN Youth for Sustainable Development Goals,” the team’s video highlighted the growing disinterest of youth in agriculture — an issue that threatens the nation’s future food security. As a solution, they featured the CLSU’s Precision and Digital Agriculture Center (PreDiCt), aiming to shift young people’s preconceived negative views about farming through technology and innovation. Competing against 48 official entries and a total of 192 student participants, the team was composed of accounting students namely Joseph Scott I. Bundoc, Shaina Glyssa Castillo, Patrick Enoza, and Tristan Jay P. Nening, under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Winnie DC. Villanueva, Asst. Prof. Harold Vincent DJ. Vidaira, and Ms. Via Shane R. Santiago. In addition to securing a podium finish, the team also garnered two special awards that highlighted both their creativity and online presence: Best Video Entry, which recognized the quality and impact of their multimedia presentation, and 3rd Place in Facebook Engagement, awarded for their ability to effectively reach and engage a wide audience. Another team from CLSU also competed in the event with their video project titled “SINEKVAT,” which focused on preserving and sustaining the culture of the Bugkalot indigenous community in Nueva Vizcaya. Their work explored how modern technology can help revive and integrate traditional heritage into the present. This team successfully placed in the Top 18 of the competition. The AFSLC was organized by the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Committee on Faculty Development and Research, in partnership with KPMG Philippines and RG Manabat & Co., CPAs, to cultivate socially responsible and innovative young leaders in the accounting field across the ASEAN region.