ALKHOBAR, 2 November — Six Filipino electrical engineers passed the Professional Electrical Engineer (PEE) exams held in Alkhobar last week.
Romeo Munda, president of the Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers chapter in the Eastern Region (IIEE-ERCSA), identified the successful examinees as Gregorio T. Ege, Eduardo G. Espada, Mario A. Hilado, Edgar M. Lintao, Nelson J. Tagapulot, and Antonio C. Vitan.
Rodolfo Peñalosa, chairman of the Board of Electrical Engineering of the Philippine Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), administered the professional oath to the passers.
The oath-taking ceremonies took place at the Le Gulf Meridien Hotel in Alkhobar a day after the examinations, simultaneously with the 6th IIEE-ERCSA annual convention and election of officers.
Peñalosa was part of the PRC team that conducted a series of licensure examinations for civil, electrical and mechanical engineers in the Kingdom.
More than 150 engineers or engineerings graduates participated in the examinations which were held in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar.
Only the result of the PEE test was made known right after the exams. Those for registered mechanical engineering (RME), electrical engineering (REE), and civil engineering would be checked by computers in Manila.
A small number took the PEE test, which is open only to licensed electrical engineers who have practiced the profession for at least five years. During the test, a PEE candidate is made to defend his technical report before the examiners.
Munda said that there were eight candidates in the professional level but two were required to take another oral examination.
In Jeddah, six PEE candidates also passed.
There were 26 examinees for the Registered Electrical Engineer (REE) and three for Registered Master Electrician (RME) in the Eastern Region.
During last weekend’s ceremony at the Le Meridien Hotel, PRC Commissioner Alfonso Abad said that the Filipino engineers are very strong in Southeast Asia despite the issue on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) registry. He said a lot of Filipino engineers are now working in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.
Filipino engineers have difficulty enrolling into the APEC registry due to the short number of years they spend taking up their courses. While the number of educational years in the Philippines is 14 for commerce and 15 for engineering, most APEC members have 16 or even 17.
Peñalosa, however, told Arab News that Filipino engineers, particularly in the Kingdom, may still apply for the APEC registry. He said APEC may include work experience as a factor in considering an application. Applicants may file application with the PRC. After passing evaluation, applicants will be referred to the Philippine Technological Council, and finally to the Commission on Higher Education.