PinoyME Foundation

CHAIR EMERITUS

H.E. Corazon C. Aquino

Former President of the Republic of the Philippines Chairperson, Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation Corazon Cojuangco Aquino served as President of the Republic of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the symbol of the Philippine People Power revolution of 1986 which sparked a series of peaceful revolutions that ushered in the rise of democracy all over the world. As such, Time Magazine named her the icon of People Power in 2007. She was also named Time Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 1986. In addition, she received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize, the Noel Award for Political Leadership from the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and the Fulbright Award for International Understanding. In 1998, Time Magazine named Mrs. Aquino one of the 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th century, along with other celebrated Asian leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi. Mrs. Aquino completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in the United States, with French as her major and Mathematics as her minor.

CHAIR

Deogracias N. Vistan

Former President, Land Bank of the Philippines Former President, Equitable Bank Former President, Solid Bank Sonny Vistan's career in Philippine banking spans four decades. A year after completing his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1967, he joined Citigroup where he spent 18 years working in various management positions in Manila, New York, and Cebu. In 1986, he was appointed President of the Land Bank of the Philippines by Philippine President Corazon Aquino. He later became President of Solid Bank, Vice-Chair of Metrobank, President of Equitable PCI Bank, and Chair of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB). Now retired, he serves on the board of Philam Savings Bank, Lorenzo Shipping Corporation, Vitarich Corporation, U-Bix Corporation, and the Philippine Depository and Trust Corporation.

PRESIDENT & CEO

Danilo A. Songco

Former National Coordinator, CODE-NGO Former Director, Development Bank of the Philippines Dan Songco completed his Masters Degree in Public Administration as an Edward S. Mason fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in 2005. He has worked in various capacities in the government and development sectors for twenty-five years. Between 1993-2002, he served as National Coordinator of the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), the largest association of non-profit organizations in the Philippines with over 2,500 members. In 2001, he joined the board of directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines as an appointee of the President of the Philippines. In 2007, he became President and CEO of the PinoyME Foundation. He has also served as a consultant of several international development agencies, such as The World Bank, USAID, and the Asian Development Bank. He was the Philippine fellow of the Eisenhower Fellowship in 1999 and was conferred with the Ninoy Aquino Fellow for social service in 2002 by Former President Cory Aquino and the Embassy of the United States.

TRUSTEE

Senen C. Bacani

President, La Fruitera, Inc 2006 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Mr. Senen Bacani was the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines from January 1990 to June 1992. In 1993, he spearheaded the establishment of La Frutera, a thousand-hectare banana plantation in Maguindanao that employs mostly Muslims, some of whom are former rebels of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The economic development La Frutera brought to this remote area has greatly enhanced peace and order. The farm is now one of the country’s largest banana exporters. Mr. Bacani graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Commerce from De La Salle University. He completed his MBA from the University of Hawaii. Prior to becoming Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, he occupied several senior management positions at the Dole Food Company, the last of which was Vice-President for Operations of Dole Asia, Ltd.

TRUSTEE

Ambassador Albert F. del Rosario

Former Philippine Ambassador to the United States Former President, Management Association of the Philippines Ambassador del Rosario was Philippine Ambassador to the United States from October 2001 to July 2006. Currently, he is Chair of Gotuaco, del Rosario and Associates, Inc., Asia Insurance (Philippines) Corporation, BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation, and the Makati Foundation for Education. He is also the President of the Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corporation (PTIC), and a Director of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), First Pacific Company (Hong Kong), PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk (Indonesia), Landco Pacific Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., First Philippine Holdings, Inc., and the Manila North Tollways Corporation.

TRUSTEE

Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr.

President and CEO, PHINMA Group Chairman, Makati Business Club Ramon served as the Philippines’ Secretary of Finance under President Fidel V. Ramos from 1992 to 1993. He is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Philippine Investment Management (PHINMA), Inc. and President and Vice Chair of Bacnotan Consolidated Industries, Inc., two affiliated companies with investments in housing, education, energy, financial services, steel roofing and business process outsourcing. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and De La Salle University. Ramon is well-respected in the business sector and is known as an activist businessman. He was involved in several social and political causes including the first and second People Power revolutions. He also sits on the board of several non-profit organizations among which are the Philippine Business for Social Progress and the Philippine Educational Theater Association where he is Chair.

TRUSTEE

Victoria P. Garchitorena

President, Ayala Foundation Vicky is known for her leadership in many civil society organizations. She was founding Chair of the League of Corporate Foundations, Philippine Council for NGO Certification, Philippine Association for Volunteer Efforts, Metro South Cooperative Bank, and the Makati NGO Network. She was also a Board Member of the US-based Council on Foundations and is a Senior Adviser of the World Bank’s Asia-Pacific Advisory Council Against Corruption. In government, she served as Senior Consultant of the Office of the President of the Philippines, the Head of the Presidential Management Staff, and a Director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. Currently, she is the President of the Ayala Foundation, Inc. and Ayala Foundation, USA.

TRUSTEE

Daniel L. Lacson, Jr.

Former Governor, Negros Occidental Bitay Lacson was responsible for turning around one of the poorest provinces in the country during his stint as governor of Negros Occidental. Before he was appointed governor of the province, Negros Occidental was the symbol of poverty and social unrest in the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship. Bitay served as Chair of the Philippine National Bank from 1992-1998. During this period, he worked with the administration of former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos as Presidential Adviser for Rural Development and Chairman of the Presidential Council for Countryside Development. He is currently the Chair Emeritus of Negros Navigation, and Chair of the Philippine Interisland Shipowners’ Association.

TRUSTEE

Rafael C. Lopa

Executive Director, Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation Rapa Lopa is a Co-Founder and Director of Pulse Asia, a leading research agency that studies social and commercial issues. Pulse Asia periodically conducts a nationwide survey called “Ulat ng Bayan” to monitor the Filipino citizenry's socio-economic and political perceptions, and utilize this information to guide the decisions of influential political leaders and policymakers. He is also the Chair of MicroVentures, Inc. (MVI), a social enterprise that develops sustainable business models for microentrepreneurs, as a means to alleviate poverty. Rapa graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University.

TRUSTEE

Juan Miguel Luz

Former President, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction Mike Luz’s service record spans the length of government, non-profit, academic, and the business sectors. In government, he served as Director of the Presidential Management Staff and Undersecretary of the Department of Education. In the non-government sector, he was Associate Director of the Philippine Business for Social Progress and President of the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction. In the academe, he was a faculty member of De La Salle University and Associate Professor at the Asian Institute of Management. In the business sector, he served as Vice-President of the Far East Bank and Trust Co. Wherever he served, Mike always brought with him his own brand of dedicated service and innovation. He has made a mark in each and every position he has occupied. Mike received his college degree from the De La Salle University and later his Masters in Public Administration at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

TRUSTEE

Vitaliano N. Nañagas II

Former Chairman, Development Bank of the Philippines Former Chairman, Social Security System Before his government postings as head of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, Social Security System, and Development Bank of the Philippines, Lanny Nañagas II was a New Yorkbased Citibank executive. He has served on the boards of several Philippine banks, such as the Bank of the Philippine Islands (1995), First Metro Investment Corporation (1995-1996), and Equitable-PCI Bank (2001-2004). He was President and CEO of the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. in 1996-1997. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, major in Accounting, from De La Salle College. He graduated, with distinction, from the Master of Business Management program of the Asian Institute of Management. Lanny also sits on the board of several non-profit organizations, among them, the Philippine Council for NGO Certification, where he is currently Chair.

TRUSTEE

Manuel V. Pangilinan

Chair, PLDT Chair, Philippine Business for Social Progress Manny Pangilinan leads some of the largest corporations and socio-civic organizations in the Philippines. On the business front, he is Chair of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Smart Communications, Maynilad Water, Medical Doctors, Inc. (operates the Makati Medical Center), Philex Mining, and the Manila North Tollways Corporation. In the socio-civic sector, he is the Chair of Philippine Business for Social Progress, member of the Board of Trustees of the Ateneo deManila University, and the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines. He is also the President of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (a national sport association for basketball). Mr. Pangilinan has received numerous awards for his work in Philippine business and social development, among them, the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Komandante awarded by the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines in recognition of his contributions to the country. Mr. Pangilinan graduated cum laude with a degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University, and received his MBA degree from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania.

TRUSTEE

Washington SyCip

Founder, SyCip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV) Chairman, Asian Institute of Management Wash SyCip is considered the 'grand old man' of Philippine business. In 1946, he founded SyCip, Gorres, and Velayo (SGV), the first accounting firm in the Philippines, which eventually became the biggest in the country and in Asia. Apart from SGV, he established several Philippine institutions such as the Asian Institute of Management and Philippine Business for Social Progress. He sits on the board of some of the biggest companies and non-profit organizations in the Philippines and abroad. He is a personal friend and adviser to nearly all post-war Philippine presidents, as well as a number of American presidents and leaders of Asian countries. At age 88, he continues to be a global citizen traveling at least 150 days a year to attend the board meetings of the organizations he is a part of. His personal philanthropic interests are education, microfinance, rural health and population management.

TRUSTEE

Aniceto M. Sobrepeña

President, Metrobank Foundation Chito Sobrepeña worked in government service for twenty-two years before joining the private sector. Since November 1995, he has served as Executive Director, Executive Vice-President and currently President of the Metrobank Foundation, Inc., the corporate social responsibility arm of the Metrobank Group. Chito earned his undergraduate diploma in Political Science from the Ateneo de Manila University, graduating cum laude in 1973. After finishing a one-year Development Economics course at the University of the Philippines in 1974, he took his Masters Degree in Development Economics at the Williams College in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. in 1977.

TRUSTEE

Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting

Chair, Planters Development Bank Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting is the founder, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Planters Development Bank (Plantersbank), the country’s leading bank for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Plantersbank has prestigious international organizations among its shareholders ---the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Dutch government’s Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). From 2004-2008, Ambassador Tambunting served as Chair of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), a regional organization of 100 development banks in 40 countries. He was the Philippines’ Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1993 to 1998. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Maryland. Prior to that, he obtained his secondary education from the Culver Military Academy in Indiana.

TRUSTEE

Veronica F. Villavicencio

Executive Director, Peace and Equity Foundation Ve Villavicencio is Executive Director of the Peace and Equity Foundation, one of the biggest not-for-profit development agencies in the country that provides grants and loans to non-government and people’s organizations to combat poverty in the Philippines. She has a long background as a development worker, starting from her college days in the 1970s when she was involved with organizing a union of jeepney drivers in Metro Manila. Prior to her current position, she was Deputy Director General of the National Anti-Poverty Commission of the Republic of the Philippines. She graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering (cum laude) from the University of the Philippines.

CORPORATE SECRETARY

Atty. Jose Feria, Jr.

Atty. Feria is the Managing Partner of the Feria Tantoco Robeniol Santiago law office and a Director of the Philippine Bar Association. He is also the Chair of Directories Philippines Corporation (DPC). He completed his Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Santo Tomas, and also has degrees in Economics and Business Administration from De La Salle University.