Chairman`s Report_20th PAQS Congress

1 June 2016
Chairman’s Report on the 20th PAQS Congress in Christchurch, New Zealand
I am happy to report on the recent success of the 20th PAQS Congress held in Christchurch, New
Zealand with fourteen (14) PICQS delegates, the most number of delegates in the PICQS history. We
have delegates to the Young Group meetings and activities, representatives to the Education, BIM,
Sustainability and Board meetings.
I delivered the Country report in the Board meeting and represented the Philippines through PICQS in
the opening ceremony attended by about 400 delegates from all over the world. Other attendees to the
Board meeting are Nimfa Gomez, Luzviminda Villacan and Maria Cecilia de Castro who took turns in
exchanging our gifts with various Member Countries at the end of the meeting.
I and Nimfa had a chance to talk to the ICEC Secretary General, Peter Smith, and he said the ICEC
Accreditation Board Committee, comprised of experts in the field of Quantity Surveying, had thoroughly
reviewed our materials and were impressed with our APC Training Program. In fact, other revered QS
organizations who have long been established only had their CPD Program accredited. Our APC
Training Program is the first of its kind to be accredited by ICEC. See link below for further details.
http://www.icoste.org/accreditation/certification/#more-56
We also have 4 delegates to the Young group with Dana Lynn Tan, PICQS Centralized Membership
Committee Head, presenting the latest construction technologies in the Philippines and Mercedita
Ilagan, Lay Out Editor of the PICQS Annual Review, who prepared the slides with resource materials
Page 1 of 7
contributed by Maila Victorino (a regular Young Group attendee). Joem Baldeso, the PICQS NZ Chapter
President and Kenneth Yeung, the PICQS NZ Chapter KC Head, who are also NZIQS Affiliate Members
joined the PAQS Young Group activities.
Page 2 of 7
Elmer Ipapo, PICQS NZ Chapter Advisor and an
Affiliate of NZIQS, attended the sustainability forum
and discussion. Florinda Fuego – Alferez of PICQS
Philippine Chapter, attended the interesting BIM
meeting. In the Education and Accreditation
Committee meeting attended by Luzviminda
Villacan, PICQS KSA Chapter President, one of the
highlights of the meeting is the development of the
QS education in the Philippines, which is one of the
priorities of PAQS.
Following the various committee meetings, we attended various technical and academic sessions with
a range of topics from BIM, space management, QS profession, principles of measurement for Cost
Planning in BIM, green building, vocational education and training of QS, alliances contract and many
more. Some of the PICQS delegates also joined technical site visits to the Cardboard Cathedral, New
Bus Exchange, Canterbury Art Gallery and Museum, Christchurch Town hall Conservation Project and
Justice and Emergency Services Precinct. We were also fortunate to have listened to notable keynote
speeches from the current Mayor of Christchurch, the past Mayor of Christchurch who won praises for
his role, leadership and work in response to the quake in 2011 that claimed 185 lives and collapsed
tens of thousands of buildings throughout the city. Other keynote speeches include topics on ICMS: A
landmark international standard for the construction industry, Accelerating Change and You providing
brave predictions to understand how the QS industry can remain relevant and succeed in the future, a
powerful speech on uncertainty and change delivered by Peter Hillary, son of the late Sir Edmund
Hillary, the 1st New Zealander who made the first ascent to Mt Everest in 1953, how to overcome
earthquake challenges, navigating 21st urban complexity, strategic approach to post-earthquake
growths and many more.
After the two-day congress, I had a meeting with
AIQS regarding the arrangement for a Direct Entry
Agreement between PICQS and AIQS on
Membership. Following this, I signed Memorandum
of Understanding (MOUs) with PUJA (Brunei), SISV
(Singapore) and IQSI (Indonesia) to strengthen
collaboration and our ties with these PAQS Member
Countries.
Page 3 of 7
The congress culminated with a Gala Dinner held at the Airforce Museum.
<Use Arial font>
Page 4 of 7
The delegates to this year’s PAQS congress had opportunities to visit the nice places of Christchurch
and Auckland which include tours to the location shoot of the famous movie, the Lord of the Rings
(Middle Earth and Hobbiton Tours), the scenic Queenstown and the beautiful Lake Tekapo.
I would personally like to thank all delegates namely Luz Villacan, Nimfa Gomez, Maria Cecilia de
Castro, Elmer Ipapo, Nila Dimaano, Dana Lynn Tan, Mercedita Ilagan, Florinda Fuego - Alferez,
Milagros Gecana, Joem Baldesco, Kenneth Yeung, Melchor Lobido and Donna Lobido for actively
participating and giving their full support to the PAQS activities.
Page 5 of 7
Meet and Greet with PICQS New Zealand Chapter
I am very glad to have met some of the PICQS NZ Chapter Members who are based in Christchurch,
New Zealand. They will hold their P3T this June 2016. Members are keen to learn and become Certified
QS Members and Members of the NZIQS. After the Congress, I and NZIQS had a discussion about
Direct Entry Agreement of our Members to NZIQS and they have implemented new guidelines to cater
to those who have overseas qualification. It is worthy to note that PICQS NZ Chapter started with 4
founding Members and has now grown to about 28 Members.
Meeting with Ara Institute of Canterbury Officials
I visited the Ara Institute of Canterbury (formerly CPIT, a known technical provider of Built Environment
courses in New Zealand) along with PICQS Key Officers namely Elmer Ipapo, Nimfa Gomez and Nila
Dimaano to discuss the curriculum and syllabus of their Institute regarding the Higher National Diploma
in QS, which is one of the two courses to be launched by PIBE.
Testimonial from one of the attendees of the PAQS Congress
It was indeed worthy attending the PAQS Congress as a PICQS Delegate. All the Respect, Trust,
Recognition and Assistance that PICQS are receiving from the different International Institutions is just
so overwhelming and makes me even a prouder Member and embrace my profession as a Quantity
Surveyor.
New relationships, rekindled friendships, personal bonds, professional networks and enriched
knowledge, karaoke nights and nature tripping are just few memories that were captured and made to
last.
Dana Lynn Tan, PICQS Centralized Membership Committee Head
Page 6 of 7
Invitation to the 21st PAQS Congress in Vancouver, Canada
I am inviting all members to attend the 21st PAQS Congress in Vancouver, Canada on 21 – 25 July
2017. The theme for the congress is Green Development: the New Era. I would encourage members
(40 years and below) to participate in the Iwata Essay competition. In addition, those who are
undertaking or who have completed their MSc, are all encourage to submit their dissertation papers
and participate in the Best Paper award for Practitioners.
Members are requested to submit their Expressions of Interest on or before 30 June 2016, to allow for
proper planning in terms of attendance to the committee meetings and the congress.
Faithfully Yours,
Julie Christie M. dela Cruz, MBA, BSc CE, PGDipSurv, FPICQS ICECA, FRICS, FAIQS, FCIOB, ACIArb
Chair and Founder
Page 7 of 7