A team consisting of the University President, Dr. Samson L. Molao, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Jesusa D. Ortuoste, the Vice President for Finance, Administration, and Resource Generation, Dr. Reynaldo H. Dalayap, the President of the Faculty Association Dr. Dolorcita E. Pauya, the Director of Isulan Campus, Dr. Mary Lynn G. Magbanua, the Dean of College of Engineering, Engr. Rommel Lagumen, Engr. Ma. Theresa Cadiz, and Ms. Irish Mae G. Pasquin flew to Palawan on November 8, 2022 to visit and conduct benchmarking activities at the Palawan State University.
The visit was geared towards a better understanding of the Petroleum Engineering program as an initial step towards the eventual offering of the program in Sultan Kudarat State University. The visit was marked by a meeting with President Ramon Docto of Palawan State University which was also attended by the Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Elucila M. Sespeñe, the Dean of the College of Engineering, Engr. Roy C. Dayupay, and the Program Chairperson of Petroleum Engineering, Engr. Karl Patrick B.Garcia.
President Molao shared his vision of offering Petroleum Engineering in the SKSU with the possible collaboration with BARMM, the Provincial Local Government of Sultan Kudarat, and Palawan State University, which is one of the leading institutions in terms of Petroleum Engineering. The vision was impelled by the untapped potential of the Liguasan Marsh in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat. An audio-visual presentation to introduce the program was shown by Engr. Garcia. After which, details on how to start the program in SKSU were discussed. Initially, Dr. Sespeñe shared that the program still has no existing CMO. Thus, they are closely coordinating with the Program Specialist Division of the Commission on Higher Education. She also shared that DOST is very supportive of their PetEng program, so much so that they were given scholarship grants to pursue Masters in Petroleum Engineering and eventually PhD in Petroleum Engineering in Malaysia. Engr. Dayupay also shared success stories of the graduates of the program who are now raking in thousands of dollars either as engineers abroad or entrepreneurs in Palawan.
The team also visited the facilities of Palawan State University, among which included its Civil Engineering Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, and the Petroleum Engineering Laboratory. The tour also took the team to Palawan State University’s Library, its Media Division, its College of Architecture, its Auditorium, and its Gymnasium. The highlight of the tour proved to be the showing of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas to Power Project. Engr. Dayupay showed the true-to-life model of the Malampaya Project and explained how it is the biggest success story in the Philippine Energy Sector.
The benchmarking concluded with an agreement of inking a Memorandum of Understanding before the end of the year, wherein PSU will be the degree granting institution for Petroleum Engineering in SKSU.
