Dr. Primitivo C. Cal, Executive Director, UP Planades
Interviewed by Dr. Ricardo T. Jose
UP Planades office, School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Quezon City
17 May 2016
Dr. Primitivo Cal has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Cebu Institute of Technology (1965), a master’s degree in Transportation Engineering from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand (1970), a doctoral degree in Transportation Planning from University of Dundee, United Kingdom (1976); as well as a bachelor of laws from University of San Carlos, Cebu (1988). As one of the key figures in the mass transit system in the Philippines, his area of expertise revolves around civil engineering works, environmental planning, and construction arbitration.
Dr. Cal began his career immediately in government upon finishing his college education by working in what was then the Bureau of Public Highways. He studied abroad for graduate studies and returned to the country during Martial Law and was granted the Balik Scientist award (1977). He worked within and outside the country on public and private projects from urban planning to transportation engineering through the support of multilateral and bilateral funding agencies from World Bank, Asian Development Bank, AUSAID, JICA, etc.
Dr. Cal has held key positions in the academe (UP Cebu, UP Diliman, Transport Training Center/National Center for Transportation Studies), government (DOTC), and private sector (UP PLANADES, ALMEC), etc. He has also served as president of key professional and international organizations on transportation, civil engineering, consultancy, and urban planning. He led in drafting the National Transport Policy Act, which was sponsored by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.