Bernardo Villegas
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Bernardo Malvar Villegas is a
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
economist and writer best known for being one of the framers of the 1987
Philippine Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...
, for authoring a number of widely used Philippine economics textbooks, and for his role in the founding of two influential Philippine business organizations, the
Center for Research and Communication The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P; Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Asya at Pasipiko'') is a private university in the Philippines. It traces its beginnings to the Center for Research and Communication (CRC), which was established on August 1 ...
and the
Makati Business Club The Makati Business Club is a private non-profit business association in the Philippines founded in 1981 to promote the role of the business sector in national development efforts. Counting senior executives from some of the Philippines' largest ...
. He is also known for advising
Philippine presidents 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 ...
since the
Fifth Philippine Republic Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...
came into power in 1986, and as a professor and vice president at the University of Asia and the Pacific, as well as visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona.


Education

Villegas is a
Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
, having obtained his bachelor's degree in commerce and the humanities (both summa cum laude) from
De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...
. He later earned his doctorate degree in economics at the
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 ...
,http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=1105543&ticker=BC:US&previousCapId=874170&previousTitle=Tata%20Steel%20Limited becoming a teaching fellow at Harvard's College of Arts and Sciences at the age of 21. While at Harvard, Villegas and Filipino fellow-student
Jesus Estanislao Jesus P. Estanislao is a Philippines, Filipino economist best known for having been the 6th Socio-economic Planning Secretary and concurrent Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) from 1989-1990, and Secretary ...
attended activities organized by
Opus Dei Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei ( la, Praelatura Sanctae Crucis et Operis Dei), is an institution of the Catholic Church whose members seek personal Christian holiness and strive to imbue their work an ...
, and became members before returning to the Philippines in 1964.


Center for Research and Communication and Makati Business Club

On August 15, 1967, Villegas and Estanislao formally established the Center For Research and Communication, a non-profit private research center that served as a think tank for private sector businesses and a provider of economics training programs. In 1981, Villegas became a member of the founding Executive Board of the
Makati Business Club The Makati Business Club is a private non-profit business association in the Philippines founded in 1981 to promote the role of the business sector in national development efforts. Counting senior executives from some of the Philippines' largest ...
, a forum to address economic and social policy issues which affect the development of the Philippines, together with
Enrique Zobel Enrique Jacobo Emilio Zóbel y Olgado (January 7, 1927 – May 17, 2004), better known as Enrique J. Zóbel and EZ, was a prominent Filipino businessman, pilot, and polo player belonging to the prominent Zóbel de Ayala family who are of Spanis ...
and former ambassador
Jose V. Romero Jr. Jose Emeterio Villanueva Romero Jr. (4 May 1934 – 10 September 2018), also known as Joe Romero or Jose V. Romero Jr., was a Filipino statesman and diplomat. Early life and education Romero was born on May 4, 1934, to José E. Romero and Elisa ...
Villegas remains a member of the board of trustees.


Constitutional Commission of 1986

As a prominent Philippine economist towards the end of the Marcos dictatorship and a key member of both the Center for Research and Communication and the Makati Business Club, Villegas played an important role in Philippine history during the mid-1980s. The Philippine economy had been in decline since 1981 and went into a full nosedive in early 1983 after the US increased interest rates, sparking a series of events that led to the ouster of
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
in 1986. Villegas’ expertise as an economist led to him being appointed as a member of the
Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 The Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 was the Constitutional convention (political meeting), constitutional convention tasked with drafting the 1987 Constitution, present iteration of the Constitution of the Philippines in 1986. Sessio ...
, framed the Philippines’ new democratic constitution, which would be ratified by plebiscite in 1987. At the closing session of the commission, its President
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma Cecilia Muñoz-Palma (November 22, 1913 – January 2, 2006) was a Filipino jurist and the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ferdinand Marcos on October 29, 1973, an ...
recognized Villegas’ signature contributions to the constitution:
“''...principles of solidarity and subsidiarity and the social function of property in the Article on the National Economy, and the right to life of the unborn from conception.''”
According to his own account, Villegas was part of the minority which objected to the protectionist stance taken by the constitution against foreign investors. However, the majority prevailed and provisions were added to limit the potential role of foreign investors in key sectors of the Philippine economy. Villegas also played a part in the efforts to recover the
unexplained wealth of the Marcos family The Marcos family, a political family in the Philippines, owns various assets that Philippine courts have determined to have been acquired through ilicit means during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos from 1965–1986.Tiongson-Mayrina, Karen and ...
. In the book “Philippine Political Economy: The Marcos Years,” Philippine Ambassador to Italy
Jose Romero Jr. Jose Emeterio Villanueva Romero Jr. (4 May 1934 – 10 September 2018), also known as Joe Romero or Jose V. Romero Jr., was a Filipino statesman and diplomat. Early life and education Romero was born on May 4, 1934, to José E. Romero and Elisa ...
recalls that Dr. Villegas was the source US Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Bosworth had referred to when he testified to the United States Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs that about US$10 billion worth of capital had left the Philippines since the Philippine economy went into a nosedive in 1983. The PCGG later cited a similar amount as an estimate of the unexplained wealth of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. As one of the framers of the 1987 constitution, Villegas is considered an amicus curiae (friend of the court) by the Philippine Supreme court.


University of Asia and the Pacific and current roles

Villegas and Estanislao had attended a private meeting with
Opus Dei Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei ( la, Praelatura Sanctae Crucis et Operis Dei), is an institution of the Catholic Church whose members seek personal Christian holiness and strive to imbue their work an ...
founder Msgr.
Josemaría Escrivá Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás (9 January 1902 – 26 June 1975) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest. He founded Opus Dei, an organization of laypeople and priests dedicated to the teaching that everyone is called to holiness ...
in 1970, which inspired them to transform CRC into a university. This resulted in the CRC offering its first graduate program, the Masters in Industrial Economics. This was followed by the establishment of the CRC's College of Arts and Sciences in 1989, and the government recognition of the new
University of Asia and the Pacific The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P; Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Asya at Pasipiko'') is a private university in the Philippines. It traces its beginnings to the Center for Research and Communication (CRC), which was established on August 1 ...
(UA&P) on June 26, 1995. Villegas became a professor at UA&P. But he also remained part of the CRC, which had retained its identity as a think tank, where he now serves as research director. Villegas has written seven books, articles in ''Global Nation'', several economics textbooks used in Philippine educational institutions, and books on management. He sits on the boards of a large number of Filipino and international corporations in several sectors and industries. He is also a consultant on management development and strategic planning.


Awards

Villegas received awards including the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) 1972,
Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, Johnson Foundation, Asia Foundation and the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica.


Written works

* State of the Philippine Economy * Strategic Guidelines to Investments in the Philippines * Challenge in Asia * The Philippine Economy after the May Elections * The Outlook of Asia Economic Region * ''Book of Values'', University of Asia and the Pacific, 1998, * ''The Philippine Advantage'', University of Asia and the Pacific, 2001, *''A Filipino's vision for recovery: polevaulting to the third millennium'', University of Asia and the Pacific Foundation, 1997, *''The Philippines at the threshold of the third millennium'', University of Asia and the Pacific in cooperation with Philip Morris Philippines Inc., 2000, *''The Filipino phenomenon'', University of Asia and the Pacific Foundation, 1998, *''Economics and society: policy perspectives for the 1990s'', Sinag-Tala Publishers, 1989,


References


External links


Asia Speaker's Agency on Bernardo VillegasAuthor's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villegas, Bernardo Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people Opus Dei members 20th-century Filipino economists De La Salle University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 21st-century Filipino economists