Romulo takes helm at state-owned development bank

By Riza Lozada

Former Sen. Alberto Romu­lo assumed the post as new chairman of the board of the Development Bank of the Phil­ippines (DBP) after Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III swore him into office last week.

Rogelio Garcia also took his oath of office before Domin­guez as a director of the DBP board.

Romulo brings with him to the DBP his extensive experi­ence in both the executive and legislative branches of govern­ment.

He has served as the Sec­retary of the Department of Finance (DOF) and of Foreign Affairs (DFA), budget minister, and also as Executive Secre­tary in the Arroyo administra­tion. He returned to head the DFA during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III.

As a former foreign affairs secretary, Romulo had pushed for the congressional approval of the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law, which, prior to his watch, had not been acted upon for 27 years.

His efforts to have the law passed paved the way for the government to secure its claim in the United Nations for an ex­tended continental shelf cover­ing an area as big as Luzon.

Romulo also worked for the passage of the Veterans Benefit Enhancement Act in the US Congress, benefiting Filipino veterans who had then been waiting for 60 years to have the law passed.

He was also named a key member of the economic team of President Corazon Aquino during the transition period fol­lowing the 1986 People Power Revolution, undertaking the mammoth task of reinstating the stable fiscal status of the then-Central Bank and gov­ernment financial institutions, which were bankrupt and insol­vent at that time.

Romulo has likewise served as chairperson of both the Land Bank of the Philip­pines and the Philippine De­posit Insurance Corp., a gover­nor of the Asian Development Bank and alternate governor in the International Monetary Fund. He sat as member of the Monetary Board twice, first during the Corazon Aquino ad­ministration and later during the Arroyo presidency.

Having served as senator in the 8th, 9th and 10th Con­gresses, Romulo authored and sponsored several landmark pieces of economic legisla­tion, among them, the Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act, RA 8282 that further strengthened the Social Securi­ty System, RA 7169 or the Phil­ippine Veterans Bank Act, and RA 7640 or the law constituting the Joint Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

Romulo, a Doctors of Laws, completed his doctor­ate at the Universidad de Ma­drid. He is also a certified public accountant.

Garcia, a practicing lawyer prior to his appointment to the DBP, is a former member of the Batasang Pambansa and was Deputy Minister in the Depart­ment of Labor and Employ­ment (DOLE).

He had served as direc­tor of the Manila International Airport Authority and held var­ious high-level positions in the Integrated Bar of the Philip­pines-Mindanao.

Garcia is also the PDP-La­ban regional president for the South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sul­tan Kudarat-Saranggani-Gen­eral Santos (SOCCSKSAR­GEN) region. He completed his law degree at San Beda Col­lege in Manila.