Dearth of CPM and PME in the country

By Dr. Rex Casiple

The practice of mechanical engineering in the Philippines is categorized into three: the Professional Mechanical Engineer (PME), the Mechanical Engineer (ME), and the Certified Plant Mechanic (CPM). The CPM handles mechanical plants or equipment with an operation and maintenance capacity of 100 kW to 300 kW. The ME handles mechanical plant or equipment installation, operation, and maintenance of 300 kW to 2,000 kW. The PME is the highest category among the three, handling the design, installation, operation, and/or maintenance of mechanical plants or equipment of 2,000 kW and beyond.

This month of August 2025, the PRC announced that 98 passed the Technical Evaluation for Upgrading as PME given by the Professional Regulatory Board of Mechanical Engineering (PRBME) in July 2025. Likewise, the PRC announced that 288 passed the same examination for PME upgrading given in June 2025. I am glad to mention here that I was one of the aspirants who passed the upgrading examination for PME last July 2025.

Meanwhile, the PRC Board of Mechanical Engineering announced that a total of 1,554 out of 3,808 examinees, or 40.81%, passed the Mechanical Engineer Licensure Examination in August 2025. The region produced 70 passers out of 183 takers, or a 38.25% passing rate.

Furthermore, the PRC Board of Mechanical Engineering announced that a total of 56 out of 113 examinees, or 49.56%, passed the Certified Plant Mechanic (CPM) Licensure Examination given in August 2025. Dave Vincent Pastrana Alegre of Capiz State University (CAPSU) ranked No. 3 among the successful examinees who garnered the three highest places in the examination. Also, CAPSU ranked No. 2, next to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP)-Taguig, in terms of the number of takers and passers. The region produced 12 passers out of 27 takers, or a 44% passing rate. The CPMs are needed in the operation of power plants, industrial plants, and other establishments operating or consuming power of 100 kW to 300 kW. In addition, CPM license holders are considered civil service passers or eligibles equivalent to First Grade Eligibility.

The Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME) is the PRC-accredited Accredited Integrated Professional Organization (AIPO) in mechanical engineering. As PSME National Vice President for CPM Affairs from 2023 to 2024, I discovered the shortage of takers in the CPM licensure examination. In the Feb. 28, 2023, CPM Licensure Examination, there was no taker from the Western Visayas region. This prompted us in PSME to conduct a CPM advocacy campaign nationwide. The campaign yielded positive results in the Aug. 5–6, 2023, Mechanical Engineer Licensure Examinations, when the PRC announced that a total of 104 out of 187 examinees, or 55.6%, passed the CPM Licensure Examination. This was a 108% increase in the number of takers compared with the Feb. 28, 2023, CPM board examination with only 90 examinees. In this examination, there were 78 takers from the Western Visayas region with a 32% passing rate.

In 2025, when I was designated as PSME National Vice President for PME Affairs, I found that there was a shortage of PMEs in the country. A study showed that there were only 6,367 PMEs in the country as of December 2024, while around 23,400 industries needed PME services. Mechanical engineering schools needed at least 820 PMEs to teach board subjects. Hence, the PSME PME Affairs, in coordination with the new Professional Regulatory Board of Mechanical Engineering (PRBME), conducted a series of PME upgrading campaigns and strategies to increase the number of PMEs in the country. The campaign yielded positive results, producing 612 PMEs from February to August 2025. Our target is 750 before the end of the year.

Finally, these findings show a shortage of CPMs and PMEs in the country today.