Malacañang has designated Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) Deputy Director General for Space Science and Technology Dr. Gay Jane Perez to serve as the agency’s Officer-in-Charge (OIC).
This comes after PhilSA’s founding director general, Dr. Joel Marciano, stepped down following more than five years at the helm of the country’s national space program.
As OIC, Perez will ensure the continuity of PhilSA’s programs and partnerships across the Space Value Chain, advancing the agency’s mandate under the Philippine Space Act or Republic Act 11363.
“Under her leadership, PhilSA reaffirms its commitment to harness Yamang Kalawakan—the emerging domestic space ecosystem—for sustainable development and nation-building,” PhilSA said.
Perez, who has served in her role since 2021, earned her doctorate in physics from the University of the Philippines Diliman.
She later conducted postdoctoral research at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center, where she specialized in remote sensing and satellite data applications.
Perez is the first Filipino recipient of the ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women, recognized for her groundbreaking research using satellite data to forecast droughts and improve agricultural productivity.
Senate Resolution No. 923 also honored her achievements, which include being a 2021 National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Outstanding Young Scientist and a 2019 The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) awardee.
Perez likewise led the science team involved in the development of the Philippines’ first microsatellites, Diwata-1 and Diwata-2, underpinning the current technological innovations in PhilSA, such as the ongoing development of the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment (MULA) satellite.
