Bringing DPWH to the World

PDD young engineer shares spotlight in 26th World Road Congress in Abu Dhabi

By IMEE GRACE B. TANTIADO

It was in 2015 when he applied for a job in the Regional Office. Applying left and right, he never expected to end up working here. In fact, he was already being considered by two big companies.

However, getting a chance to also write on top of his profession, he chose to work in the Department with his first boss and mentor, Engr. Jose Al Fruto, then Chief of the Planning and Design Division, now OIC-Assistant Regional Director.

Glancing over his resume when he first applied, Engr. Ray Adrian C. Macalalag’s feats in campus journalism on top of his achievements in his engineering degree wherein he graduated with academic distinction are quite impressive. He was young and vibrant, and the moment you hear him speak, you will be convinced that he is a vital asset of the DPWH.

So it was not surprising when he earned his way becoming the only Filipino engineer who qualified as poster presenter in the 26th World Road Congress held on October 6-10, 2019 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He presented his paper entitled, “The Engineering Aspects of Policy and Governance in Road Safety in Western VIsayas, The Philippines” during

the poster sessions of the conference attended by nearly 5,000 delegates from 120 countries all over the world. A poster of Engr. Macalalag’s paper was also featured at the exhibition hall of ADNEC.

His paper focused on the analysis of road crashes in relation to the national road density of each city or municipality. The result was a score rating from 1 to 10, with the latter being the most vulnerable or high risk. Engr. Macalalag’s study highlighted the need for urban planning and legislation to institutionalize its role in safer roads in line with the United Nations Decade of Action for Global Road Safety 2011-2020.

Engr. Macalalag has been specializing with highway safety for over three years and has been a partner of various government agencies and local government units in programs for road safety. Among his major inputs is working with the Road Safety Prototype Ordinance with the Department of Health (DOH) and local government units as well as the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2017-2022 with experts from the DOH,

Department of Transportation, Ateneo de Manila University School of Governance, World Health Organization, and Bloomberg Inititative for Global Road Safety.

Earlier this December, he also went to the University of the Philippines Diliman to share his learnings in a roundtable discussion on pedestrian and commuter safety hosted by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies.

Ray, as everyone calls him, is currently stationed at the Planning Section, Planning and Design Division, and sits as Regional Focal for Feasibility Studies and Regional Coordinator for Road and Bridge Information Application.

The DPWH is truly proud with his achievement, especially DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar. In a post on his official Facebook page, Sec. Villar lauded the young engineer: “Congratulations, Engr. Ray Adrian Macalalag of DPWH Region VI for being one of the presenters for the 26th World Road Congress in Abu Dhabi. Saludo kami sa’yo!”