In an effort to harness the expertise of academe, government agencies, industry, and professional organizations towards reforms that will ensure that academic programs produce competent graduates that will supply the manpower needs for the local and international labor markets, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has appointed new members of the Technical Panel (TP) for Environmental Engineering.

“The Technical Panels are part of the mandate of CHED when it was created in 1994 and at that time, the need was to have experts who will ensure that curriculum programs meet quality assurance standards,” said CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera in a statements issued Tuesday, Sept. 14.

“So much has changed since then,” De Vera said. These, he added, include tremendous changes in Technology, internationalization of education, ASEAN integration and other international quality assurance agreements, climate change and sustainable development which require “changes in the way we develop and produce our graduates.”

Given this, De Vera said that CHED has seen “it fit to reconstitute our Technical Panels and give them additional responsibilities to help the Commission reform higher education.” Administered by De Vera, the new members of the first ever TP for Environmental Engineering took their oath of office virtually on Sept. 13.

The reconstituted TP is headed by Dr. Robert Y. So, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ecosystem Technologies International, Inc. (ESTII).

Dr. Jihan Hasim-Adil, Faculty, Department of Environmental Engineering, Western Mindanao State University and National President, Society of Environmental Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. Represented the Society of Environmental Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. (SEEP).

Dr. Jessie O. Samaniego, Scientist I, Nuclear Materials Research Section, Atomic Research Division, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Quezon City represented the government agencies.

Meanwhile, Dr. Louie A. Lapenas, Senior Environmental and Sustainability Specialist, San Miguel Aerocity, Inc. represented the industry.

Representing the academe are Dr. Alexander L. Ido, Chair, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering program, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines; Dr. Ruji P. Medina, Program Chair, Environmental and Sanitary Engineering, Technological University of the Philippines; and Engr. Edgar Alan A. Donasco, Associate Professor V of the Mechanical Engineering department; Intellectual Property Legal Officer, Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office, Intellectual Property Advisory Council and former Dean of the College of Engineering of Mindanao State University -Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).

De Vera expressed hope that the new TP will share their expertise with the commission so if there are policy concerns that the commission needs to act on, the TP members can provide the expertise needed for the Commission en Banc to make evidence based decisions.

The reconstitution of the new Technical Panel for Environmental Engineering is based on CHED Administrative Order No. 3, s. 2019 entitled, “Revised Policies and Guidelines in the Reconstitution of Technical Panels for Various Disciplines/Program Areas of the Commission on Higher Education.”

“The expertise required and the concerns in environmental engineering are very diverse,” De Vera said. “At the core of the study of environmental engineering is the need to find solutions to environmental problems,” he added.