Patricia Aragon Santo Tomas is a Filipino government official who previously served as Chairman of the Board of

Development Bank of the Philippines The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is a state-owned development bank headquartered in Makati, Philippines. It was established after World War II in 1947 on the government's effort through its mandate to rebuild the country's war t ...

from 2006 to 2009. She has been a Secretary of Labor and Employment and Chairwoman of the Philippine Civil Service Commission for several years.

Education

Patricia Aragon Santo Tomas graduated from Kamuning Elementary School and Quirino High School, both in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. She received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Malayong Silanganan''), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private non-sectarian Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Manila, Philippines ...

, her

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from the

University of the Philippines Los Baños The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; fil, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Los Baños), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay ...

, and her

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

.Cabinet profile, Office of the President, Republic of the Philippines, 2006.

Early work

Patricia Aragon Santo Tomas first worked in the government as a clerk at the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress of the bicameral legislature of the ...

from 1964 to 1966. She gradually rose from the ranks and was transferred from one agency to another until her appointment as Chief of the Manpower Development and Utilization Division in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) until 1977.

Leadership experience

Santo Tomas held other positions as policymaker until her appointment as Administrator of the

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) was an agency of the Government of the Philippines responsible for opening the benefits of the overseas employment program of the Philippines. It is the main government agency assigned to ...

(POEA) from May 1982 to September 1987. She was appointed Assistant Secretary at the Department of Education, and was shortly re-appointed at the DOLE. In 1988, she was appointed Chairperson of the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rou ...

(CSC) until 1994. The CSC is the central personnel agency of the government of the Philippines. In 2001, she led an Executive Search Committee tasked to find qualified professionals to man key positions in the Cabinet and attached agencies of President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

. Soon, she was appointed by President Arroyo as Secretary of the

Department of Labor and Employment The Department of Labor and Employment ( fil, Kagawaran ng Paggawa at Empleyo}, commonly abbreviated as DOLE) is one of the executive departments of the Philippine government mandated to formulate policies, implement programs and services, an ...

(DOLE). Santo Tomas was elected as Chairperson of the Governing Body of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 2006, Santo Tomas was appointed by President Arroyo as Chair of the Board of Directors of the

, a state-owned financial institution with a nationwide branch office network.

Awards

Santo Tomas has received numerous professional awards for government service and public leadership. She was a Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service Awardee for Public Administration; an Outstanding Graduate of the Career Executive Service Development Program Phase 2; an Edward S. Mason Fellow at

; a

Fellow; a Grantee of the United States International Visitor Program, and the United States International Communication Agency.

Academe

Santo Tomas is a Professorial Lecturer at the

and a Consultant at the Communication Technology for Rural Education.

References

External links

Development Bank of the PhilippinesDepartment of Labor and Employment, Republic of the PhilippinesInternational Labour Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santo Tomas Filipino civil servants Secretaries of Labor and Employment of the Philippines Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines Filipino women in business Arroyo administration cabinet members Far Eastern University alumni University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Mason Fellows