It was not an easy ride to the top. In fact, it took a lot of diligence and determination to achieve this. His early education in Baliuag, Bulacan was a proof of this since he was an honor student there from grade school to high school.  Being an honor student, he aspired to take up the medical profession in college. But fate and the meager income his family was earning at that time dictated otherwise. He then made a decision that would eventually change the course of his life – and that was when he decided to take up B.S. Civil Engineering as his undergraduate studies at the Mapua Institute of Technology. There he strived to do his best. In fact, Mr. Simbulan himself acknowledged that it was his years of training in civil engineering at Mapua was the most fulfilling years of his career growth. He deemed those years as one of the hardest years of his life but at the same time the most challenging. He remembered that during those times, there were around 60 of them taking up the course at the beginning of the semester. But this number slowly dwindled throughout the semester until they were only around 30 who took up the final exams. This experience taught him that success even if it seems impossible can still be achievable for people who tries hard and works hard to the achieve the goal. He stated that “whether it is master plumbing or sanitary engineering, the subject matters are not alien to civil engineering graduates.” He went on to further say that most of the Top Ten placers in the board examination for master plumbers were civil engineers. With that being said, Mr. Simbulan indeed not only aimed for success but achieved it himself as he graduated with flying colors.

But his thirst for knowledge and for excellence did not stop there. After he passed the board exam for Civil Engineers, he decided to take up B.S. Sanitary Engineering as a second degree at National University.  He then placed second among the Top Ten for the Board Exam for Sanitary Engineers.  He used that achievement as an inspiration to pursue Master of Science degree in Sanitary Engineering which of course he also passed with much decoration. And as an icing to the cake, he took up the licensure examination for Master Plumbers and passed it.  Perhaps the most distinctive fact about this astounding string of accomplishments is that he took all these exams as a first timer – a proof of his proficiency in these particular fields. All of these experiences could probably attest to his rise in his present career standing.

Mr. Simbulan did not become a star overnight in his career.  His attitude towards his studies extended to his workplace and from there his interest and passion in plumbing and civil engineering grew.  His first job was while waiting for the results of the CE board exams. He worked at AG&P Manila as Civil Engineer Trainee and was assigned in a big pier project in Limay, Bataan. After getting his license as civil engineer, he then worked at the Bureau of Public Works, Irrigation Division now the National Irrigation Administration for more than a year.  This resulted in his interest in taking on the challenge of high-rise building constructions which led him to become a Project Engineer. His leadership qualities became evident as he rose from the ranks and later become Chief Engineer.  Among the noted landmarks that he handled were the Quezon City Hall Complex in Quezon City, Unimard Shopping Complex and Greenhills Theater in Greenhills, The Echelon Tower in Mabini St. Manila, and the 32-storey Biltmore Tower in Greenbelt Makati.

After retiring from this position as a Chief Engineer and garnering all the experience and knowledge expected from the job, Engineer Simbulan realized that it was now time to pay back and share his knowledge with others especially the young hard working professionals. It was probably seeing himself in these youngsters eventually led him to volunteer on any subject matter that was within the scope of his education and expertise whether in the field of civil engineering, sanitary engineering, or plumbing engineering. His involvement with several professional organizations such as the National Master Plumber /Plumbing Engineers Association of the Philippines or NAMPAP where he served as a former Director and Auditor led others to be cognizant of his abilities. NAMPAP then nominated him to PRC to fill-up the vacant position of member in Board of Master Plumbers which then led him to become the present Chairman as what he is right now today.

Being on the board of BOMP and becoming chairman only led him to become more interested and passionate about the development of the master plumbing profession. More so when he became a charter member of the Philippine Instituted of Plumbing Engineers (PIPE) and then the Philippines Society of Plumbing Engineers (PSPE) when the former became inactive in 2003. Engineer Simbulan became a professional lecturer in plumbing engineering in NAMPAP and PSPE during several seminars and national conventions. He then also became an avid supporter of the movement calling for the passage of the Plumbing Engineering Law in the late 90’s to the present.

Engineer Simbulan explained that this movement was due to the fact that until now, there is no such thing as a legal profession as “Plumbing Engineer” here in PRC or in the country itself. The proper term for someone like the Engineer would be a “registered master plumber and a plumbing engineering practitioner” but not “Plumbing Engineer” per se.  Because of this, Engineer Simbulan’s priorities are now focused around how the plumbing engineering bill can be passed into law so that there will be only one professional who is legally recognized to practice a standard for educational programs in plumbing engineering that will be taught in colleges and universities in order to enhance and develop the status of plumbing engineering as a unique discipline and profession.  One of his most expressed desires is that more efforts on the implementation of programs for the study and training of students and young professional engineers in this course must be exerted and established in order to demonstrate that a realistic standard of professional competence can be clearly defined and achieved.

Another thing that Engineer Simbulan brought up was about the grave misconception on the practice of plumbing in not only in our country but also in other parts of the globe –even in developed nations.  He believes that the public perception of plumbing was that plumbing has a very limited scope and all practitioners have to do the dirty works because they are uneducated.  Mr. Simbulan expressed concern that he found this data incorrect after all. According to him, there are four classifications of people that handle plumbing as a trade or profession. The lowly class or unskilled laborer is called the apprentice plumber or plumber helper. He is not allowed to perform plumbing duties without the direct supervision of either a journeyman or master plumber. The journeyman plumber is the skilled worker in the four classifications. He has attended a vocational school for at least 2 years and has at least 4000 hrs or 2 years full time of actual plumbing works. He is allowed to work on his own provided a master plumber has to check his work regularly. The third one is considered as a professional under PRC and called registered master plumber. He must be at least a journeyman plumber with 2000 hrs or 1 year actual work experience prior to taking the master plumber licensure examination. He must have a Master Plumber license in order to practice and be allowed to have his own plumbing business. The last one is a professional engineer called plumbing engineer but in the US he must have passed the qualifying examination to earn the designation “Certified in Plumbing Design” or CPD even though he already was a state license as Professional Engineer (PE). This is also one of his priorities which made him so obsessed to correct these wrong public impressions.

That is why he states that the biggest achievement he had so far that has a significant impact on his career in PRC was the preparation of the final draft of the Proposed Plumbing Engineering Law of 2011 Bill which was endorsed by PRC to the sponsors of the Bill in Congress after a reconciliation meeting with the Board of Sanitary Engineering, the officers of both the Philippine Society of Sanitary Engineers and Philippines Society of Plumbing Engineers and the Board for Master Plumbers under the direct supervision of PRC. The bill is still pending in Congress.

He has also expressed the pressing need for our country to attend to the appalling lack of training in the area in the plumbing industry since there are no schools that teach comprehensive subjects pertaining to even basic plumbing up to the most highly technical subjects of plumbing engineering. Though there are skilled plumbers here in the Philippines, there are only a few because sadly plumbing engineering is one of the most neglected technical or engineering discipline in our country. He sadly notes that our country really has a lot of catching-up to do especially because of the climate and the environment changes these past few years has forced others to consider “green” possibilities to do something about the impending global problems in water, energy, and environment.  He admits though that the hardest part of practicing his plumbing profession is convincing the building owners to shift from conventional plumbing systems to highly technical green plumbing practice and method that concern conservation of potable water, reduction of energy use, preservation of the environment and minimizing the negative impacts of storm water runoff such as flash floods. Indeed the Philippines have a lot to learn and grow in order for us to advance in this particular field.

Engineer Simbulan reiterates his passion and love for his career by this last piece of advice for aspiring plumbing engineer practitioners like him. He advised that they should develop their knowledge, skills, and personality by joining different professional organizations aside from NAMPAP and PSPE particularly those that are based abroad like the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), etc., so that they can have access to different books and magazines that tackles plumbing engineering principles, design, materials, and specifications as well as what is new in the plumbing industry. He also advises aspiring plumbing engineers to join civic organizations like Rotary International which can help develop their personality and leadership capabilities. And of course, to achieve excellence and success, Engineer Simbulan reminds them all to make time to study more about plumbing engineering, green infrastructure, green plumbing, and sustainable building design and familiarize themselves with different codes and regulations as well as the provisions and goals of LEED and other similar institutions to broaden their horizon in their field of practice and expertise.