Officials
DR. GAY JANE P. PEREZ
Director General
Philippine Space Agency
gay.perez@philsa.gov.ph
odg@philsa.gov.ph
Dr. Gay Jane P. Perez is. Filipino scientist recognized for her contributions to satellite remote sensing and the development of the Philippines’ space capabilities. She is currently the head of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) after previously serving as Deputy Director General for Space Science and Technology since 2021. She is also a Professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Prior to her appointment at PhilSA, Dr. Perez led key satellite development initiatives in the Philippines and spearheaded research projects utilizing satellite and remotely sensed data for environmental monitoring, agricultural applications, and climate studies.
Since 2015, she has been involved in satellite mission definition and analysis, contributing to the development of the country’s first Earth Observation satellite, Diwata-1, and its successor, Diwata-2. She also oversees the development of the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment (MULA), the country’s first large-scale, high-resolution Earth observation satellite.
Dr. Perez is a recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Outstanding Young Scientists Award (2021), The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Award (2019), and the ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women (2018)—becoming the first Filipino woman to receive the latter. She was also a postdoctoral fellow at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from 2010 to 2011.
Denis F. Villorente
Deputy Director General for Space Operations, Infrastructure, and Industry
Philippine Space Agency
Engr. Denis F. Villorente is the Deputy Director General currently handling the portfolio of Space Operations, Infrastructure, and Industry of the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).
Prior to PhilSA, Engr. Villorente served with the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Science and Technology Advanced Science and Technology Institute.
DR. MARC CAESAR R. TALAMPAS
Deputy Director General for Space Science and Technology
Philippine Space Agency
Dr. Marc Caesar R. Talampas currently serves as the Deputy Director General for Space Science and Technology (DDG-SST) of the Philippine Space Agency. In this role, he assists the Director General in guiding programs and projects that advance scientific and engineering knowledge, space missions and capacity-building in Space Science, Technology and Applications (SSTA). He also oversees units involved in policy development, international cooperation, and legal services.
Prior to his appointment as DDG-SST, Dr. Talampas served as the Director of the Space Technology Missions and Systems Bureau (STMSB), where he directed and undertook the design, implementation, testing, and integration of technologies for satellites, spacecraft, and space systems used for space science missions and space-enabled operational services.
Dr. Talampas obtained his BS Electronics and Communications Engineering and MS Electrical Engineering (Instrumentation and Control) degrees from the University of the Philippines, where he is also a Professor. He obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His research interests include localization and tracking in wireless networks, sensor network applications, and satellite and space technology.
Dr. Talampas has led pioneering projects in Philippine space technology, including serving as project leader of “Project 1: Microsatellite Bus Development (BUS)” under the PHL-MICROSAT Program funded by the Department of Science and Technology. He also spearheaded the “Building PHL-50: Localizing the Diwata-1 and Diwata-2 Bus System as the Country’s Space Heritage 50kg Microsatellite” project under the STAMINA4Space program.