Raymundo Punongbayan

Dr. Raymundo Santiago Punongbayan (13 June 1937 – 28 April 2005) was the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) from 1983 to 2002. Punongbayan became popular after handling two well-known calamities, the 1990 Luzon earthquake and the 1991 Pinatubo eruption.

Education Raymundo Punongbayan studied his secondary education at Florentino Torres High School in Tondo, Manila. Punongbayan graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1960 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Geology and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1972.

Professional and family life From 1975 to 1982, Punongbayan had multiple roles. First as associate professor of structural geology in the University of the Philippines from 1975 to 1982. He became a director of the Mines Research Division in Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) in 1977 to 1982. In the 1978, he became the president and general manager of Synergistic Consultants, Inc. Afterwards, he became a professor of geology at University of the Philippines in 1982.