PRESIDENT Duterte appointed Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) acting Director Joel Joseph Mariano Jr. as the first director general of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) that was created last year.
Marano was appointed last December 5 based on the list of presidential appointees released by Malacañang on Tuesday.
PhilSA is a government body created through Republic Act No. 11363 or the Philippine Space Act in August 2019 for the improvement of space science and technology in the country.
Mariano, who holds the rank of a Cabinet secretary, has been with the DOST-ASTI since 2016. DOST-ASTO had been involved in projects like the Project Noah and the Philippines’ first microsatellite, Diwata-1.
He is an alumnus of the University of New South Wales where he earned his Doctor of Philosophy on Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, and the University of the Philippines where he earned his bachelor of Science-Electrical Engineering degree.