Naturally, the DoST is an agency that can only employ specialized individuals given its very technical yet complex functions and goals. De la Peña — a batch ’69 graduate of Chemical Engineering from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City — for his part, has always been excited at the prospect of modernizing the nation within the realm of science and technology.

Young, talented and energetic, he wasted no time in gaining work experience out of college and was immediately hired as Operations Engineer for oil company ESSO Philippines (now known as Petron) for two years.