Manila Water President and CEO Ferdinand M. Dela Cruz was conferred the 2017 Most Distinguished Alumnus Award by the University of the Philippines Alumni Engineers (UPAE) Association, Inc. during the UPAE 70th Anniversary and Alumni Homecoming held on November 18 at the UP Ang Bahay ng Alumni in Quezon City.

The annual UPAE awards program recognizes outstanding UP alumni engineers who have distinguished themselves in their areas of specialization and whose contributions have made them outstanding models of inclusive growth.

In his speech during the homecoming event themed “Bridging the College with the Industry and Alumni,” Dela Cruz expressed his gratitude to the organizers and selection committee for the distinct honor.

“I would like to dedicate this recognition to a number of people who have allowed me to grow personally and professionally, including the men and women of Manila Water who tirelessly work 24/7 to provide excellent water and used water services in Metro Manila, in other parts of the country, and increasingly in the ASEAN region. I have been awed by the quality of the work they do and they are walking manifestations of how great Filipino engineers can be.”

Launched in 1963, the Most Distinguished Alumnus award is given to an alumni engineer who has attained national and possibly international stature and has brought honor and prestige to the College of Engineering, the University and/or the Country. An awardee must be outstanding not only in his chosen engineering field but also in other areas of endeavor related to his profession.

The first Most Distinguished Alumnus award was presented to the Philippines’ fourth Prime Minister, Cesar A. Virata. Other notable alumni conferred with this award were former Manila Water President, Filemon “Jun” T. Berba, Jr.; a member of Manila Water’s Board of Directors, Delfin L. Lazaro; and former Public Works Secretary, Rogelio "Babes" L. Singson.

Dela Cruz graduated cum laude in BS Mechanical Engineering at UP Diliman and also ranked 10th in the 1987 Mechanical Engineering Board Licensure Examinations. He was awarded Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in 2001 by the UP College of Engineering.