By DANIEL P. TAPAOAN, JR.

Dr. Virgilio Julius P. Manzano, Jr., Professor VI and Dean of the MMSU Graduate School, has joined the Senior Executive Class (SEC) Batch 9 of the Public Management Development Program (PMDP) of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).

Manzano was accepted by the PMDP Steering Committee based on the qualifications set for senior executives. The candidates for the program also took written and oral examinations, making the entry to SEC more competitive. 

As an SEC participant, he is entitled to a government scholarship that includes free tuition fee and training materials, accommodation and curriculum-related transportation as necessary.

The PMDP-SEC is designed for senior officials who possess outstanding intellectual and creative abilities, deep commitment to public service, and demonstrate potential for shaping policy and management at higher levels of government.

Manzano said the training has already started through an orientation on PMDP policies and workshop on the technologies to be used in the program, held via Google meet last August 3-7.

In the light of the current situation, the DAP has adopted flexible learning to deliver the program. This involves a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities using available technologies in Google Suit and other collaborative platforms.

Conducted in one year, the SEC includes residential training, sensing journey, and study mission on international governance and policy innovations in a span of 10 months, specifically one week every month. The remaining two months are focused on the conceptualization to finalization of the participant’s capstone paper. 

The SEC participants shall receive their certificate of completion of residential training upon completion of the academic work. Likewise, they shall receive a diploma in development management after acceptance of the capstone paper.

PMDP is the national government’s career executive service development program that aims to produce a network of peak-performing, development-oriented, ethical, and committed government executives and middle managers in the Philippine bureaucracy. (StratCom)