Alfredo Juinio

Alfredo L. Juino’s name will never be forgotten for as long as the National Engineering Center, housed in the Alfredo L. Juinio Hall, the building named after him, stands.

Juinio graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UP in 1939 and topped the civil engineering board that same year. He was sent abroad as a University fellow and returned with a master’s degree in structural engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Juinio had a long and illustrious career in UP – as educator, innovator, and administrator. Dean Juinio helped focus attention on the importance of basic education to development. He was the moving spirit in the establishment of the National Hydraulic Research Center, the National Engineering Center, and the UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation which supports scientific and technological efforts in the country.

Juinio was the structural engineer of the UP Chapel, the Church of the Holy Sacrifice. It is the first structure to have a thin shell concrete dome. The UP Chapel is recognized today as a National Historical Landmark and as Cultural Treasure. Juinio is also credited for the early high-rise buildings along Ayala Avenue, such as the Gilarmi Apartments, Elizalde Building, DBP Building, and the Hotel Intercontinental.

In 1965 , Juinio headed the newly established Office of Campus Planning which was tasked with drafting the overall design of campus utilities, buildings, locations and zoning, infrastructure works, water and electrical utilities, drainage, landscaping, and campus beautification.

For 16 years, he served the Department of Civil Engineering, starting as an instructor and later on as its chairman. In 1970, Juinio became the COE Dean until 1979. He was also the chairman of the newly formed Board of Trustees of the UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (UPERDFI) which he served for 30 years. The College of Architecture traces its origin so that the Architectural Engineering program was introduced in 1954 by then Civil Engineering Department Chair and Alfredo Juinio. Juinio likewise served as a member of the UP Board of Regents.

As Minister of Public Works, Transportation and Communications, he mounted a large and demand-responsive water resources program; helped push a large mini-hydro power program; and directed the huge school building program. He also served as Administrator of the National Irrigation Administration and head of the Upper Pampanga River Multi-purpose projects in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. His landmark contribution to the country's development was in agricultural infrastructure, notably the integration and coordination of irrigation activities as the base of food production and self-sufficiency. Juinio was also a member of the Batasang Pambansa.

He was co-founder of the DCCD Engineering Corporation, and the first all-Filipino integrated engineering design and consultancy in the country.

Among the awards and recognition he received were: the Meralco award for Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Most Distinguished Alumni Engineering Alumnus and the Most Outstanding Betan award. He was a member of a number of professional and civic organizations.

Juinio was a people person. He centered on the upliftment of the Filipino. He believed in the innate talent and capability of the Filipino and thus gave utmost importance to the education and training at all levels.