EARLY BEGINNINGS OF CHARTER 60:
PICE MAKATI CHAPTER

(Based on “HISTORY OF PICE MAKATI CHAPTER” by: Ms. Nannette C. Villanueva)

The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) Makati Chapter traces back its early beginnings to 1984. The chapter formation was spearheaded by Engr. Antonio A. Mansueto who was then the PICE National Vice President for Visayas and Mindanao. Thanks to his all-out support and painstaking effort, the PICE Makati Chapter was formally organized.

At the Charter Inception, there were seven (7) Charter members and most of them were connected with the following government and private entities: the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Second Metro Manila Engineering District, RCG Consult, Technicks and Erectors.

On 18 August 1984, during the Grand Charter Presentation and Induction Ceremonies held at the Architectural Center Club, Inc. (ACCI) in Palma St., Barangay Poblacion, Makati City, PICE Makati Chapter was presented CHARTER CERTIFICATE NO. 60. This milestone has since then been observed as the official Founding Anniversary of PICE Makati Chapter. Engr. Jose Ruperto C. Gaite, Jr. was the very first Chapter President and he served the organization for the next two years.

Cognizant of the initial efforts by the Chapter to gather civil engineers living and/or working in the Makati area to come together to undertake programs that would uplift the Civil Engineering (CE) Profession, CE professionals from the Makati Municipal Engineering Division and other Makati-based Construction and Consulting firms joined the Chapter. By mid-1986, the Chapter membership grew to about 200 members. The Chapter election of 1986 gave Engr. Eliseo I. Evangelista the mandate to serve as the Chapter’s 2^nd President and succeed out-going Pres. Engr. Gaite, Jr. Pres. Engr. Evangelista served a two-year term from 1986 to 1988.

As with many organizations in their early stages, PICE Makati Chapter experienced its own “birth pains”. One of the many organizational challenges that it had to deal with was how to translate actual membership to “active” membership participation. During this phase of the young organization, only a small percentage of the membership was active, hence, putting much of the loads and responsibilities on the shoulders of the Officers and Directors.

The Board of Directors (BoD) itself faced another equally pressing problem. The composition of the BoD, as stipulated in the Charter By-Laws, granted almost equal number of Directors for both the Government and Private sectors. Because the Directors from the Government sector were mostly from the DPWH Second Metro Engineering District and owing to the nature and urgency of their work, many of them missed attending the regular Board meetings. Some of them were even given new assignments that saw them being transferred to other cities or municipalities.

Despite these humps and bumps, the Chapter was never remiss in sending its representation to PICE National activities and conferences, as well as technical seminars which were sponsored by other chapters. Meanwhile, the National dues of inactive Chapter members started to accrue. With this most recent hit, the Chapter’s resilience was being put to the test.

In a very timely manner, the BoD, or what was left of it, took steps to bring renewed energy to the Chapter by reorganizing in 1987. With the usual guidance and support of Engr. Mansueto, a new set of Officers and Directors were installed. For the 1987-88 term, Engr. Evangelista remained as the Chapter President. The reorganization was off to a good start with the holding of a well-attended Induction and Fellowship Night on 26 June 1987. Not long after, however, the same problem, QUORUM, beleaguered the Chapter.

Not one to easily accept failure and defeat, the Chapter’s concerned leaders made another resolute campaign to face the problem head on by, yet again, reorganizing. This second time, the leaders were firm in their objective to select and install a new set of officers who are committed to the Chapter and who will do their utmost best to actively pursue the Chapter’s objectives. They believed, and rightly so, that an active, committed, and involved leadership will engender an active, committed, and involved membership.

The process of “strengthening” the Chapter was a long and tedious one but it was a necessary step that the Chapter leaders had to take to keep the Chapter alive and relevant. In August 1988, the second reorganization commenced.

By the second quarter of 1989, the incumbent BoD sought again the advice and guidance of Engr. Mansueto on how to finally address the problem on quorum. He formed an Ad Hoc Committee for Reorganization which held successive and regular meetings to the address the Chapter problems. During its deliberations, the Ad Hoc Committee recommended to broaden the composition of the Board by relaxing the limitation on the number of sectoral representatives. Based on this recommendation, the Ad Hoc Committee screened, selected, and installed a new set of Officers and Directors for the 1989-1990 term and they were as follows:

YEARS 1991-2000 OF CHARTER 60: PICE MAKATI CHAPTER