NAMRIA marked its 36th founding anniversary with a hybrid celebration conducted at the NAMRIA Covered Court in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, and livestreamed through the agency's official Facebook page on 30 June 2023. The event, which had the theme From Data to Decisions: Advancing Geospatial Intelligence, was hosted by NAMRIA's Mapping and Geodesy Branch (MGB).

 

The first of the two-part program consisted of a Eucharistic celebration led by Rev. Fr. Angelo Paolo O. Asprer of the Sanctuary of Saint Paul the Apostle in Makati City, and messages from NAMRIA Administrator, Usec. Peter N. Tiangco, PhD, and other NAMRIA and DENR officials.

 

 

 

In his welcome remarks, MGB Dir. Ruel DM. Belen explained the significance of the theme especially the aspect of geospatial intelligence. He said that all those in NAMRIA are in essence practitioners of geospatial intelligence and called for the working together and harnessing of its power and potential for national development. Administrator Tiangco, on the other hand, highlighted the celebration's theme in his message. The theme, he said, serves as a reminder of NAMRIA's efforts to step up and ensure that the agency's products and services remain ever-responsive to the evolving needs of its stakeholders. Prior to his message, Administrator Tiangco was greeted with a surprise happy birthday song from the NAMRIA Chorale.

 

 

 

DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and MGEN Augusto D. Dela Peña, MNSA, DENR Undersecretary for Organizational Transformation and Human Resources, also graced the celebration. In their messages, they both expressed their sincerest gratitude for the hard work and dedication of NAMRIA through the years. They also lauded the contribution of Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Hydrographer Ventura of the NAMRIA Hydrography Branch (HB), which aided the location of the sunken Motor Tanker PRINCESS EMPRESS along Mindoro Island. Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga acknowledged NAMRIA as "vital to the country's development" and enjoined those in the agency to "keep on" with their "commitment to the country."

 

 

 

The second part of the program included intermission numbers from the anniversary celebration host MGB and the NAMRIA Band, raffle draws, a Pinoy Henyo live game show, and an audio-visual presentation (AVP) on the winners of the 2023 NAMRIA Sportsfest.

 

The NAMRIA Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE) Committee also acknowledged the agency's exemplary performers through the showing of a recorded awarding celebration video. The winners cited were the 2022 PRAISE agency-level awardees for Best Employee and Best Branch and the special awardees for Kakaiba Ka, Employee Initiative or Innovation, Career and Self Development, and Client Service. In his message, PRAISE Committee Chairperson and HB Officer in Charge-Director, Capt. Antonio G. Valenzuela, Jr. congratulated the awardees for the "well-deserved recognition." He expressed his hope that the awards conferred would inspire all NAMRIAns, and that the awardees would continue to make a positive impact not only on the agency but also on the community and the country.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Geospatial Information and Communications Technology Division Chief, Engr. Magellan C. Azucena gave Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga and Undersecretary Dela Peña a tour of two of the four NAMRIA data centers: the Main Data Center and the MGB Data Center. The tour's discussion focused on the data centers' security, accessibility, maintenance, setbacks, and the agency's partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

 

 

The NAMRIA 36th founding anniversary celebration was emceed by MGB's Engr. Roger G. De Luna, Engr. Charisma Victoria D. Cayapan, Engr. Henessey R. Marohom, and Engr. Jovelyn A. Naldo, and technically supported by Geospatial Information Services Division-Geospatial Information System Management Branch.