Oreta & Uy at the 2026 PICE Midyear National Convention

 DLSU Dept of Civil Engineering Professors, Dr. Andres Winston C. Oreta and Dr. Erica Elise Uy delivered technical presentations at the 2026 Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) Midyear National and Technical Conference held on May 22-23, 2026 at the SMX Convention Center.

Dr. Oreta was invited to present a paper in the Civil Engineering Education Session. Dr. Uy, on the other hand, was invited to present their DOST-funded research project at the Water Resources Engineering Specialty Session. Here are the abstracts of the presentations of Oreta and Uy, respectively.

Strengthening the Civil Engineering Graduate Seminar on Disaster Risk Reduction & Infrastructure Development (DRRID) through the CE-DRRID Teaching Modules Aligned with the Sendai Framework & AI/ICT Tools

By Andres Winston C. Oreta

The increasing frequency and complexity of natural hazards require civil engineering (CE) education to strengthen its emphasis on disaster risk reduction and resilient infrastructure development (DRRID). This paper presents the development and initial implementation of the CE-DRRID Teaching Modules, a structured set of graduate-level learning materials designed to integrate DRRID principles across major civil engineering specializations within a graduate seminar course. The modules highlight the roles of the CE specializations including civil engineering education in reducing disaster risks and promoting resilient infrastructure systems. A key feature of the modules is the systematic alignment of specialization-specific tasks with the four priorities of the Sendai Framework for DRR. Another important component of the modules is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as emerging support tools. The incorporation of AI and ICT tools within the course expands the research perspective of graduate students while emphasizing that these technologies complement, rather than replace, engineering judgment and expertise. 

Dam Risk Management Decision Support Tool

By Erica Elice S. Uy

Co-Authors: J. Tan, V. Eugenio, C.A. Fernandez, , J.B. Pauco, R. Rivera, M. Cutora, J. Galupino, I.O. Ubay-Anongphouth, R.M. Tanhueco, M.A. Adajar, J. Dungca and C. Abanag

Effective dam safety management in multi-hazard and data-constrained environments requires decision-support systems that systematically integrate structured expert judgment with standardized inspection protocols. While international dam safety guidelines provide comprehensive inspection checklists, defect classification systems, and performance rating criteria, they typically lack explicit weighting schemes for prioritizing structural components, failure mechanisms, and hazard indicators. As a result, post-inspection safety evaluations often remain subjective, limiting consistency, transparency, auditability, and risk-informed decision-making. This study presents an integrated decision-support framework that couples the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with internationally adopted dam safety inspection standards—specifically structured around Korean condition assessment guidelines—to transform qualitative inspection results into quantitative, risk-based safety indices suitable for operational deployment.

DLSU DCE Faculty, Alumni & Students actively participated at the ASEP CASTED2026

 The Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) organized the 4th International Conference on 𝗖oncrete 𝗔nd 𝗦teel 𝗧echnology, 𝗘ngineering, and 𝗗esign (CASTED2026), with a theme “𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 & 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺” on May 28-30, 2026 at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, Quezon City.

ASEP president, Dr. Rodolfo Mendoza, Jr., a professional lecturer at DCE, DLSU Manila delivered the welcome message while Former DCE Chair and professor,  Dr. Romeo Estanero delivered the Keynote Speech.

Dr. Rodolfo “Mac” Mendoza, Jr. (ASEP President)

Dr. Romeo Estanero (Retired DLSU Professor, Presently a Civil Eng’g PRB member)

The papers presented during the conference at the parallel Technical Sessions by DLSU faculty, students and alumni are as follows:

• Mary Joanne C. Aninon (PhD-CE Student, Presentor) and DLSU faculty co-authors (Dr. Bernardo Lejaono and Dr. Lessandro Garciano) – Identification of Buckling Mode Transition in Cold-Formed Steel Sections using Matlab-Fem Parametric Optimization.
• Rogel Exequiel E. Talagtag (MSCE Student, Presentor) and DLSU faculty co-author (Dr. Andres Oreta) – A RAG-based Artificial Intelligence System for verifying RC Design Compliance.
•        Mica Isabela S. Embuscado (BSCE graduate, presentor) – Comparative Study of Hole Stiffeners for Improved Compressive Strength of Cold-Formed Steel C-Section Members.
•       Carlos C. Centeno, Jr. (UP ICE, Presentor) and DLSU faculty co-author (Dr. Andres Oreta) – Constructing Seismic Resilience in Concrete Structures through a CTM-DRR Framework.
•       Joyce Ann L. Purugganan (PetroJikken, Presentor) and DLSU faculty co-authors (Dr. Rodolfo Mendoza, Jr., Joaquin Miguel P. Ramos and Kenneth Roi P. Toral)
•       Francis Domingo (DLSU Faculty, presentor) – Engineering under Pressure: Understanding Bridge Failures and Building Resilient Infrastructure System

Engr. Rogel Exequiel E. Talagtag (MSCE Student)

Photo: From left (Left most – Megan Quiaem, 3^rd - Mary Joanne C. Aninon, 6^th – Rogel Talagtag)

             Meanwhile DLSU faculty moderated the sessions: Dr. Lessandro Garciano (KS1 – Increasing the Resilience of Highway           Bridges under Multiple Hazards), Dr. Rodolfo Mendoza, Jr. (KS2 – Computational Models across the Disaster Lifecycle) and Dr. Andres Oreta (TS3 – Construction, Maintenance and Preservation) and Francis Domingo (KS8 – Maintenance for Special Bridges: A Design-Stage Approach).

             Engr. Megan Angela S. Quiaem (BSMS Alumna) served as the over-all Master of Ceremonies

DLSU DCE Paper Presentations at 9ACEE – Nepal 2026

 DLSU Dept. of Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering Division) faculty and students presented papers at the 9^th Asia Conference on Earthquake Engineering (9ACEE) held on May 4-6, 2026 at Kathmandu, Nepal.

Dr. Rodolfo Mendoza, Jr. (DLSU DCE Professional Lecturer and President of the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines or ASEP) was an invited speaker in the Technical Session on Seismic Evaluation and Design where he delivered his paper on” Selection of Appropriate Framework for Enhancement (SAFE) Tool for the Seismic Retrofit of School and Hospital Buildings.”

Dr. Rodolfo Mendoza, Jr., as an invited technical speaker

Dr. Andres Winston C. Oreta (DLSU Professor and Founding ASEP member of the ACEE) presented his paper co-authored with Carlos Centeno, Jr. (UP ICE) on “Bridging DRR and Seismic Resilience:  The Critical Role of Construction Engineering.”

Dr. Oreta presents his paper about the CTM-DRR Framework at the 9ACEE

Engr. Joaquin Miguel P. Ramos (DLSU DCE Lecturer, PetroJikken Inc.) presented a paper on “Comparative Performance Analysis of SPD, BRB, VCD, and TBD Systems for the Seismic Retrofit of Essential Reinforced Concrete Buildings in Metro Manila.”

Mr. Jesse Steven Yu Gaw (DLSU Graduating BSCE Summa Cum Laude) with his adviser Dr. Lessandro Garciano presented their paper on “Seismic damage and loss assessment of a water network with elevated water tanks.”

12^th from left: Jesse Steven Gaw and Dr. Lessandro Garciano in a group photo of their technical session

Representing also the Philippines in the 9ACEE are officers and members of the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP). Founding ASEP president of ACEE, Rannie Ison delivered the 1^st Keynote Presentation on “Forging Safer Futures: ACEE and the Collective Advancement of Earthquake Engineering in Asia.” The other papers presented from the Philippines are as follows:

·       The Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) for the Philippines – Dr. Rhomel Grutas (PHIVOLCS)

·       Characterization of topographic amplification in irregular terrains through horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio analysis in Abra, Philippines: Insights from preliminary results – Margarita P. Dizon (PHIVOLCS)

·       Structural Evaluation and Retrofitting of Government School Buildings along the Valley Fault System – Aristotle Domingo (DADEC Engineering)

·       Structural Evaluation and Retrofitting of Mt. Samat National Shrine - Marko Allen C. Macanas (DADEC Engineering)

·       Seismic resilient housing design in the Philippines – Danilo Domingo (ASEP, DADEC Engineering)

·       Advancing Structural Assessment with the Development of the ASEP DMPR Mobile Application and Policy Group Dashboard Portal - Ernesto Q. Malicad, Jr. (ASEP)

·       Proposed Response Modification Factors for Non-Ductile Reinforced Concrete Frames in Schools and Hospital Buildings in the Philippines - Joyce Anne L. Purugganan (PetroJikken, Inc.)

·       Image-Based Structural Damage Classification of RC Beams and Columns Using an Integrated Stacking Ensemble Model - Edric Valentine C. Inocencio (UP ICE) – one of the 3 awardees for the Young Engineer Best Paper Awards.

The Philippine delegates in the 9ACEE – May 4-6, 2026

The Asia Conference on Earthquake Engineering was founded in 2004 by ASEP. The 10^th ACEE will be held in 2028 at Bangkok, Thailand.

The 9ACEE participants from Asia including New Zealand and the USA – May 4-6, 2026

DLSU Civil Engineering Students Shine as Finalists in the 1st National Undergraduate Seismic Design Challenge

 Last Friday, April 17, 2026, Civil Engineering students participated in the 1^st National Undergraduate Seismic Design Challenge – Beat the Quake National Showdown: The Main Shock as finalists. Before this is a qualifying round, Beath the Quake Regional Qualifier: Ground Shaker (NCR leg), which was held last March 5, 2026, where they placed 9th out of 35 participating schools, combined across all regions, excluding the top 3 of each region. Only the top 3 from each of the four regions, named as Conquerors, and the remaining top 12 from the overall tally, named as Avengers, with a total of 24 participating schools, will be able to move to the next stage as finalists.

The twist was that the Conquerors had a total construction time of 3 hours and 10 minutes, while the Avengers would start 30 minutes later, with a total construction time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Despite the handicap placed on the Avengers, the DLSU team was able to complete and submit their tower with a total construction time of approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, and is the 9th participating school that finished early, which finished ahead of more than half of the participants.

The National Champion from the main event is awarded to Cebu Technological University - Dumanjug Extension Campus, the 1st Runner Up to Southern Leyte State University, and the 2nd Runner Up to Cor Jesu College.

The Civil Engineering students representing De La Salle University from the photo, from left to right, are: Mikel Aaron F. Capobianco, Jeremy James M. Enaje, and Yiesha Kyra N. Estrada, alongside their coach, Engr. Badong Olaivar.

 

Jan Vincent Simbol – 2nd runner-up at ASEP StructWhiz Challenge

 Jan Vincent Simbol, BSCE undergraduate student of the DLSU Department of Civil Engineering placed 2^nd runner-up in the 9th StructWhiz Challenge hosted by the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) on April 18, 2026 at the Hive Hotel, Quezon City.. The StructWhiz Challenge is a student competition on civil engineering undergraduate students focusing on subjects related to the structural engineering specialization.  The questions come from courses like Engineering Mechanics, Strength of Materials, Structural Analysis and Design, Earthquake Engineering, Prestressed Design, Bridge Engineering and the National Structural Code of the Philippines. In the morning, a qualifying multiple choice exam was given where about 100 students coming from various CE schools over the country participated. In the afternoon, the top 20 scorers in the qualifying exam were selected to participate in the live question and answer round. The Q&A round consists of three batches of 10 questions each (Easy 2 points, Medium 3 points and Difficult 5 points) for a total of 100 points.  The top 3 schools in the final round were Cebu Technological University - Dumanjug Extension Campus, Far Eastern University and De La Salle University. At the moment, since the 1^st StructWhiz, no student has qualified yet as a “Struct Wizard” where the required score in the Q&A round should be at least 70 points.

Jan Vincent Simbol (Right) – 2 nd Runner Up Winner at SructWhiz 2026

Jan Vincent Simbol (Right) – 2^nd Runner Up Winner at SructWhiz 2026

The ASEP past and present officers and StructWhiz winners. Dr. Andy Oreta and Engr. Ariel Santos (4^th and 5^th from left) were the one of the founders of the ASEP StructWhiz.