The IIEE Story

In the early 1970s, two organizations represented the electrical practitioners—the Philippine Institute of Electrical Engineer, or PIEE, an exclusive organization of Professional Electrical Engineers, and the Philippine Society of Electrical Engineers, or PSEE. When then PIEE President Luis L. Mendoza and PSEE President Gregorio M. Sadorra met, they agreed to unite the two organizations. There were, however, problems.Among others, the idea met opposition from the Philippine Association of Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, or PAMEE, the mother organization that electrical engineers wanted to break out from. There wasn’t much fund either.

Engr. Mendoza wanted to push through no matter what and booked a reservation for 100 people at Josephine’s Restaurant in Cubao for the PIEE-PSEE joint convention scheduled for December 15, 1973. PAMEE secured a court injunction order a day before the PAEE meeting, and sued the new association of electrical engineers after the meeting pushed through.

 

 

Everything turned around when PSEE elected Engr. Arturo L. Lopez to replace Engr. Sadorra. Engr. Lopez was as determined as the next engineer. After he was appointed as a member of the Board of Electrical Engineering, he re-ignited the move to have one organization for the practitioners. After several meetings between the two electrical engineering groups, the Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines Inc., or IIEE, was created. It was registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 15, 1975. In the succeeding years, IIEE leaders thought that to achieve the Institute’s vision and mission, it had to establish a foundation that will carry out its long-term goals. Thus, the IIEE Foundation, Inc. was established on October 26, 1998.

Creation of the IIEE Foundation, Inc.

Fueled by the encouragement of other former presidents, Engr. Hilario C. Gaerlan vigorously pursued the creation of the IIEE Foundation, Inc. despite his debilitating health. It took two years of discussions before the IIEE Foundation, Inc. was put in paper and eventually created. In 1998, during its first meeting, the IIEE Board approved the P250,000.00 seed money for the creation of the IIEE Foundation, Inc. Other members of the IIEE Foundation, Inc., all of them former National Presidents of IIEE, made their contribution of P2,000.00 each. During the 1998 IIEE’s Mid-year General Membership Meeting, the creation of IIEE Foundation, Inc. was declared, with the main purpose of enhancing and upgrading the practice of electrical engineering in the country and assisting the IIEE in the implementation of its long-term projects and programs on electrical product testing and research to safety. Incorporators of the IIEE Foundation, Inc. included 15 former presidents. The By-Laws of the Foundation was specifically designed with 11 trustees, consisting of nine former presidents and the National President and another officer of the incumbent IIEE Board of Governors – a collegial body that until today is preserved. The IIEE Foundation, Inc. was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 26, 1998.