Daily Tribune
Through its Filipino Scholars and Interns in Nuclear Engineering program, the Meralco Power Academy aims to build a pool of highly skilled Filipino professionals who will play a key role in the country’s future nuclear energy development.
Photograph courtesy of Meralco
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Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is deploying more scholars through its Filipino Scholars and Interns on Nuclear Engineering (FISSION) program — an initiative aimed at cultivating Filipino expertise in the specialized field of nuclear engineering.
Program participants
Participating in the program in partner academic institutions are seven engineers currently employed by Meralco and its power generation arm, Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGEN), namely Rachelle Gesmundo-Varias, Regino Hibaler, Eljhon Capili, Keith Danae Suquib, Dennmarc Marcaida, Eljan Javellana and Raymund Grant Pagulong.
Capili and Suquib recently departed for France to take up masteral studies in Nuclear Engineering at the Université Paris-Saclay, while Gesmundo-Varias and Hibaler have already started their Master’s studies in Engineering at hte Master of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering in Nuclear Engineering at Ontario Tech University in Canada.
The remaining three scholars, Marcaida, Javellana and Pagulong, are heading for South Korea first quarter of 2026 to study at the KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School.
Pilot batch
Similar to the pilot batch, which involves five scholars who started their degrees in 2024 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the United States and Harbin Engineering University in China, the engineers will be sent to nuclear technology firms for their internship before returning to the Philippines to practice their degrees.
Through the FISSION program, Meralco Power Academy (MPA) intends to build a pool of highly skilled Filipino professionals who will play a key role in the country’s future nuclear energy development.
MPA has partnered with globally recognized academic institutions to allow scholars to gain access to cutting-edge nuclear laboratories, participate in research on small and micro modular reactors and undergo internships with leading nuclear technology companies.
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These linkages align with Meralco’s broader Nuclear Energy Strategic Transition program, the company’s flagship initiative to incorporate nuclear power into the Philippine energy mix as a long-term, low-carbon energy solution.
