CEGS Dean Sits in the CCC National Panel of Technical Experts

College of Engineering and Geosciences (CEGS) dean, Engr. Meriam M. Santillan, has been chosen as one of the panel of experts in the NPTE or National Panel of Technical Experts working under the Climate Change Commission. Engr. Santillan was among one of the 16 selected panel members out of the 130 nominees.

The United Nations Organization has declared climate change as the single biggest threat facing humanity, and that developing countries such as the Philippines are posed on the frontlines of its most destructive effects. This inevitable phenomenon has therefore put a heavier burden on people in the field of environmental sciences in developing mechanisms and policies to help the nation prepare and cope with its impending effects. This challenge is of higher distinction as it not only is a pursuit towards improvement but also a race against time.

Dean Santillan’s inclusion in this year’s panel of experts gives way to Caraga State University’s  initiatives in responding to the effects of climate change. It sheds light on the acute and adverse effects of climate change specific to our region. Bringing Caraga Region’s strategy against climate change by-products to the national level is vital for an archipelagic country such as the Philippines. Sharing one region’s initiative to all others paves the way for a more efficient and effective climate change management and solution.

Engr. Santillan will be working on the Disaster Risk Reduction on Flood Hazard Mapping. She has been project leaders in Lidar 1 and Lidar 2 Hazard mapping projects and in Geo-Safer Mindanao Program for the past five years. She is a Geodetic engineer whose expertise includes flood hazard mapping and remote sensing. SMSA/CEGS/pico