When it rains, it pours.

A day before Joanna Rose T. Laddaran was honored the 2021 Gawad Tsanselor para sa Natatanging REPS on Jun. 25, she received the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) APAC Awards under the category Continuity and Resilience Professional in the Public Sector.

Laddaran was cited for her strong commitment in promoting business continuity planning (BCP) to the public sector, particularly the MSME sector, cooperatives, local government units and other industry stakeholders.

The award recognizes the outstanding contributions of Business Continuity, Risk and Resilience professionals and organizations living and operating within the Asia Pacific region.

The University Extension Specialist II of the UP Institute for Small Scale Industries (ISSI) said the BCI APAC award is a validation of the importance of their work for the public sector, particularly for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Laddaran received her award virtually via the GoToWebinar platform.

BCI is a certifying body and is the world’s leading institute for business continuity and resilience professionals. It conducts industry research and facilitates sharing of best practices in business continuity among its 9,000 plus members based in more than 120 countries.

According to BCI, “Over the last 12 months, despite the restrictions posted by the COVID-19 pandemic, she has continued to develop publications on BCP for the MSMEs; implemented research projects; and participated as a speaker and share in multiple conferences and webinars.”

Laddaran is a member of the Business Community Managers Association of the Philippines (BCMAP) and serves as Director for Public Sector Relations. She is also the only female elected as BCMAP Board Member for 2021. Her research interests are on MSME disaster vulnerability and resilience, as well as BCP practice and awareness amongst MSMEs.

Laddaran is the main proponent of UP ISSI SHARE: Seminar on Policy Handling and Action Research Proposal Development, a two-day course that aims to hone the competence of the Institute’s REPS in the development of research proposal focused on policy and action research regarding small industries.

She played an active role in the development and implementation of UP ISSI’s Honing Agents for National Disaster Awareness (HANDA) Program ¾ a capacity building program centered on business resilience and safeguarding employees, customers and assets.  She serves as speaker in training programs, educational materials/modules developer, and as resource person in consultative meetings with partners and other stakeholders.