Dr. Esperanza Oblena-Cayanan is the Deputy Administrator for Research and Development of the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the national
weather service. She is a graduate of Master and Doctorate Degree in Meteorology of the University of
the Philippines.
Dr. Cayanan has dedicated 38 years of her life serving the country as a meteorologist in PAGASA. Aside
from being a researcher who published papers on rainfall forecasting, southwest monsoon and tropical
cyclones, she also served as instructor in the PAGASA Training Center. Prior to her current position, she
worked as the Chief of the Weather Division where she supervised the weather forecasting operations
for six years. She actively participated in disaster risk reduction and management activities specially
during occurrence of extreme weather events. With her performance, she was one of the recipients of
the 2019 Woman Leader Award by the Department of Science and Technology.
Apart from her work in PAGASA, Dr. Cayanan served as the President of the Philippine Meteorological
Society, Inc. from 2012 to 2020 advocating the promotion of meteorology as a science and a profession.
And her mission in life, “Paglilingkod sa bayan, sa pamamagitan ng agham”.
