Ernesto "Ernie" Corpus Abella (born March 22, 1950) is a Filipino businessman, writer and former evangelist who served in the Duterte administration as Presidential Spokesperson (2016–2017) and Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research of the Department of Foreign Affairs (2017–2021). He ran unsuccessfully as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

candidate in the 2022 Philippine presidential election. Before joining the government, he was an executive with a

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

-based agricultural products manufacturer and a local cooperative which he co-founded. He also established a school in Davao and was a columnist for local newspaper ''

SunStar Davao ''SunStar Davao'' is an English language community newspaper published daily by SunStar Davao Publishing, Inc. with editorial and business office at Door 11, Ebro-Pelayo Building 1, Juan Luna St., Barangay 29-C, Davao City. The main product of S ...

''.

Education

Abella finished high school at

Ateneo de Davao University , mottoeng = Strong in Faith , type = Private school, Private Roman Catholic, Catholic Research Non-profit Coeducational Basic and Higher education institution , established = , founder ...

in 1964. In 1968, he graduated with a BA in pre-medicine from the same university. In 1980, he pursued his postgraduate studies at

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private university, private Research institute, research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyte ...

where he graduated with a master's degree in

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

in 1984. He also earned a master's degree in

social development Social development can refer to: * Psychosocial development * Social change * Social development theory * Social Development (journal) * Social emotional development * Social progress or social regress The word decadence, which at first meant ...

from the

Asian Institute of Management The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is an international management school and research institution. It is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busine ...

in 2005.

Career

Abella started his career in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

. He served as Creative Director for Adformatix in

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentratio ...

between 1975 and 1977. He then moved back to Davao to work as a columnist for Davao City newspaper ''San Pedro Express'' and as a professor at his alma mater Ateneo de Davao. In 1990, he founded the Hope of Asia and the Christian charismatic group Jesus Fellowship, Inc. He was also a board member of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and the Koinonia Theological Seminary. He became a preacher in Davao for several years until his abduction by ethnic bandits in 1996. In a meeting with media reporters following his appointment as Presidential Spokesperson, he narrated how then Davao city Mayor Rodrigo Duterte negotiated for his release within 24 hours. It was then when he started following Duterte and even actively campaigned for him in the last elections through his writings. Abella returned to secular life in 2002 and pursued a career in

agri-business Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

. He served as chief executive officer of AZ Agri-Products and as Chief Operating Officer of F&P Agri-Inputs. He also established his own businesses: One Accord Credit Cooperative and Southpoint School in Davao City. On October 27, 2017, Abella was replaced by Harry Roque, a representative of Kabayan party-list group as presidential spokesperson, citing personal reasons. Abella was subsequently appointed as Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research at the Department of Foreign Affairs on October 27, 2017, until he resigned on October 8, 2021, to file his candidacy for

president of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abella, Ernesto 1940s births Ilocano people Filipino business executives Filipino columnists Filipino educators Filipino bloggers Filipino Protestants Living people Presidential spokespersons (Philippines) People from Davao City Politicians from Cavite Ateneo de Davao University alumni Silliman University alumni Asian Institute of Management alumni Duterte administration cabinet members Year of birth missing (living people) Candidates in the 2022 Philippine presidential election Independent politicians in the Philippines