Filipino engineers urged to apply for ASEAN register

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 23 (PNA) – The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) has asked its members to apply in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Engineers Register in a bid to raise the bar of civil engineering profession in the country.

Speaking before 300 PICE members during its 8th Eastern Visayas Technical Conference, past PICE President Jaime Pacanan urged civil engineers to beat the Sept. 30 deadline for the registration.

“We pushed for the extension of deadline from Sept. 15 to Sept. 30 so that more Filipino civil engineers will have the chance to apply,” said Pacanan, a former undersecretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The DPWH advocated for ASEAN engineers register, noting that only few government engineers pass an examination as prerequisite to hold district engineer and assistant district engineer positions.

“Those who did not pass the examination, you can be ASEAN register and qualify for key positions,” Pacanan said.

Data from the PICE showed that only 851 engineers in the country are listed in the register. The country has 149,000 civil engineers with 79,000 of them are active PICE members.

The official website of the ASEAN Engineering Register, aer.afeo.org, describes the register as an important mission to spearhead the mobility of engineers from ASEAN member countries. The initiative started in 1998.

Together with the ASEAN Secretarial Program, the register also aims to liberalize the professional services within ASEAN to prepare for globalization under the World Trade Organization initiative.

It also aims to promote cultural and professional links among member countries in the engineering profession.

To be a qualified member of the AER, one must have a degree in engineering recognized by the home institution; must be a full time PICE member, in the case of Filipino engineers; and licensed to practice in the home country.

The PICE Eastern Visyas conference has gathered government and private firm engineers from Sept. 22-23 to tackle challenges confronting the civil engineering profession.

The event, held at the DPWH regional office multi-purpose hall, is anchored on the theme “Global Competiveness and Responsible Engineering Practices for a Sustainable Infrastructure Development.”

PICE is a professional organization for civil engineer in the Philippines. It was formed by merging two separate organizations of civil engineers: one group working from government sector and the second group working in the private sector. (PNA)
FPV/SARWELL Q. MENIANO