NAGA CITY (Sept 1, 2014) -- The Bicol regional office of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) starting this September has a new regional manager (RM) in the person of Director Vicente R. Vicmudo who replaced Director William P. Ragodon by virtue of NIA Board Resolution No. 8084 series of 2014 issued August 9 this year.
Vicmudo before his assignment in Bicol region was the RM of NIA Region 1 based in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan. On the other hand, Ragodon’s new assignment is as RM of NIA Region 4A with regional office based in Pila, Laguna.
The turn-over ceremonies between Ragodon and Vicmudo is set on Sept. 8 at the NIA Compound in Naga City.
The new NIA Bicol director is an agricultural engineer who graduated from the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in 1977. He placed fourth in the Agricultural Engineering Board Examinations in 1978.
Vicmudo has a doctorate degree in Rural Development in CLSU in 1996 graduating with a distinction of Most Outstanding Graduate with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 1.0. He is also a master degree holder of Public Administration from Tarlac State University in 1993 with distinction as Outstanding Graduate with a GPA of 1.07.
Prior to his appointment on Jan. 14, 2014 as full-fledged RM of NIA Region 1, he was the project manager (PM) of Balog-Balog Multipurpose Project in Tarlac City from 1999 until March 2014 in concurrent capacity as PM of Tarlac Groundwater Irrigation System Reactivation Project from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 2006.
His field of specialization consists of project management, institutional development, irrigation system management and project planning/feasibility studies.
Among Vicmudo’s major achievements as a NIA official are: Best PM for 1998, 1999 and 2002; Hall of Fame award in 2004 for bagging the Best PM of the Year honors for three years; Best Project Employee in 1985; and he was a semi-finalist in the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award in 2005.
As a professional agricultural engineer, Vicmudo was honored by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) as 2004 Outstanding Professional of the Year. He was also adjudged as: Most Outstanding Agricultural Engineer of the Philippines in 2002 by the Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers (PSAE) and Outstanding Agricultural Engineer in the Field of Soil and Water Management by the PSAE in 2001.
He served as PSAE national president in 1999 to 2000 and as a member of the PSAE Board of Trustees for several years.
Vicmudo is not a stranger in the region as he worked with the Bicol River Basin Irrigation Development Project (BRBIDP) then based in Sta. Lucia, Magaroa, Camarines Sur as division manager of its Agricultural Development Division.
The reshuffling of NIA officials is part of the management policies of NIA Administrator Florencio F. Padernal as approved by the NIA Board of Directors chaired by Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (PAFSAM) Sec. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Some 20 high-ranking NIA executives, regional managers, department managers and deputy administrators, were covered by the reassignment policy of the NIA Board of Directors.”30”
ED G. YU, Public Relations Officer, NIA RO 5