Lucio Tan is the famous Chinese Filipino business tycoon and the

second richest man in the Philippines next to Henry Sy. He owns Tanduay Holdings which is one of the world’s largest rum makers. He also owns Asia Brewery, the second largest brewery in the country and Fortune Tobacco, the largest tobacco company in the Philippines. He is also the owner of Philippine Airlines the Philippines’ flag carrier. These are only few examples of the 300 companies that Mr. Tan managed. The total value of his businesses was estimated not less than $20 billion controlling the 60% share.

Lucio tan was in Amoy, Fujian, Republic of China on July 17, 1934. He was still a child when his parents decided to move here in the Philippines. He studied at the University of Santo Tomas taking up Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering but finished this course from the University of Santo Tomas.

He had stop schooling before graduating to take a job in a tobacco factory. He started the cigarette company known as Fortune Tobacco in 1966. He only begins in a small hut in Marikina gained Lucio Tan to success. He then venture and became successful from various business field namely airlines and related services; banking, finance and securities; brewery; chemicals; distillery and alcohol; education; food; hotel; manufacturing; property development; steel fabrication and construction; and tourism and travel services.

Mr. Tan received several recognitions and awards both in the Philippines and abroad for his achievements and leadership. Lucio Tan holds a Doctorate Degree in Commerce from the University of Santo Tomas along with a string of honorary doctorate degrees from various institutions of higher learning.

He launched the Tan Yan Kee Foundation in 1986 in honor of his father to share fruits of his endeavor with those in need. The Foundation is aiming to support of education, culture and sports; health and social welfare; research; and manpower development.

Henry Sy, Sr. (born December 25, 1923) is the founder and chairman of SM

Prime Holdings, the largest retailer in the Philippines. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950. Acknowledged as the country’s "Retail King," he has come a long way from the modest shoe store he set up in Quiapo in 1946, to become Asia's biggest shopping mall operator with 30 malls throughout the Philippines.

He is the Philippines' richest man, gaining 1.4 billion dollars in 2007, amid the global financial crisis. The huge gain was due to his holding company, SM Investments Corp., which has interests in Banco de Oro Universal Bank, inter alia. Forbes magazine's 2008 list of 40 wealthiest Filipinos, revealed the Sy family's net worth was 3.1 billion dollars. Earlier, he was the 2nd wealthiest individual in the Philippines, next to Lucio Tan and (as of 2008) 843rd in the world.[Sy is considered a Tai-Pan or tycoon of Asia. As of 2006, Forbes magazine ranked him as the 14th richest person in Southeast Asia; "Henry Sy and family" is ranked the 74th richest in the "Asia and Australia" region, and 512th richest in the world. (In the absence of evidence to support such higher claims, the Forbes numbers should taken as a "best-guess" estimate for the time being.)

Sy is the owner of Banco de Oro Universal Bank and China Banking Corporation. In 2006, he bought the remaining 66% of Equitable PCI Bank, the Philippines 3rd largest lender, in which he already had a 34% stake, and merged it with Banco de Oro Universal Bank in 2007. The merger created the Philippines's second largest financial institution with resources of close to $17billion dollars. The Sy family has a personal stake of $4 billion in these 3 banks.[citation needed] Mr. Sy has recently sold his 11% stake in San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage conglomerate for $680 million.

Henry Sy, Sr., was named "Management Man of the Year" by the Makati Business Club and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La Salle University-Manila in January 1999. He organized the SM Foundation Inc., which helps underprivileged but promising young Filipinos.

Sy's retail chain is SM Prime Holdings, known as "Shoe Mart" or simply "SM". Several of his children now hold senior management positions in his companies, although he has groomed daughter Teresita Sy-Coson and his grandchildren Hailey Sy-Coson, Darcie Sy and Josiah Sy as his successors.

Sy's holding company, SM Investments Corp., has consistently been cited as one of the Philippines best-managed companies. On May 20, 2006, The SM Mall of Asia, built in the reclamation area of Pasay City,

was opened to the public. It is the sixth-largest mall in the world.

Fidel Ramos, (b. 1928), President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Born on 18 March 1928, the son of the Philippine minister of foreign affairs, Fidel Ramos was a career military officer. He graduated from U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1950, earned a master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois in 1951, andserved in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. A cousin of Ferdinand Marcos, Ramos served as chief of the Philippine Constabulary, director-general of the civilian Integrated National Police, and deputy chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines throughout the martial law era. He became chief of staff and a four-star general in 1986.

Former president Fidel Ramos at a news conference in Manila in January 2002. (AFP/CORBIS)

Despite his close ties to Marcos, Ramos joined the opposition and was instrumental in forcing Marcos from power on 25 February 1986. President Corazon Aquino had some misgivings about Ramos, who had previously ordered the arrest of her husband Benigno Aquino, yet she immediately appointed Ramos chief of the armed forces of the Philippines. Acquino increasingly came to rely on Ramos, who proved his loyalty by putting down several coup attempts. In 1988, Aquino appointed Ramos secretary of national defense, replacing a Marcos cabinet holdover, Juan Ponce Enrile. Ramos used his position to launch a successful presidential bid, running as a candidate for the Lakas-National Union of Christian Democrats (Lakas-NUCD) party. In 1992, Ramos was elected as the twelfth president of the Republic of the Philippines.

The Ramos presidency was a period of political and economic stability. He negotiated peace in 1995 with the largest Muslim separatist group, defeated the communist insurgency, successfully liberalized the economy, and attracted much foreign investment. Ramos proposed amending the constitution to allow a second term but met with considerable opposition; his vice president, Joseph Estrada, succeeded him. Ramos played a major role both in persuading the military to withdraw their support for Estrada following his impeachment trial and corruption scandal and in installing of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as president in February 2001. As of 2002, Ramos held the post of chairman of the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation, an influential think tank in Manila, and was serving on many corporate and foundation boards.

Felipe Gozon is the current chief executive and chair of GMA Network Inc.,

one of the largest media networks in the Philippines.

A lawyer by profession, the Yale-educated Gozon is seen as the network executive who has successfully turned-around GMA from its state as the one of the leading television networks in the Philippines to its current stature, at some point toppling the long-dominant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation in 2004 from their Mega Manila stronghold until today in the Mega Manila ratings. Under his watch, the network has also experienced stability in terms of revenues, mostly from advertising and other revenue sources.

Atty. Felipe L. Gozon obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines and a Masters of Laws degree from Yale University. He is a partner in the law firm of Belo Gozon Elma Parel Asuncion & Lucila. As a distinguished aviation lawyer, he was a member of the Philippine Air Negotiating Panel and is cited in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 as a leading expert in this field. His business experience includes acting as a director of the International Corporate Bank and as Chairman of Marcopper Mining Corporation. Atty. Gozon has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company since 1975. He currently holds the positions of Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Since assuming leadership of the Company in October 2000, the Company’s ratings have improved greatly, surpassing its nearest competitor in 2003. Atty. Gozon was named CEO of the Year by UNO Magazine in 2004 and Master Entrepreneur of the Year (Philippines) 2004 by SGV/Ernst & Young in 2005. People Asia Magazine included him in the list of People of the Year 2005. He is also currently Chairman, Vice-Chairman or director of several other institutions such as the Malayan Bank Savings & Mortgage Bank, the Children’s Museum and Library, Inc., Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication and the Nova Foundation for Differently Abled Persons, Inc. He is also a director and/or Chairman of some of the subsidiaries and affiliates of the Company, such as GMA New Media, GMA Films, Alta Productions, Citynet, GMA Marketing and Productions, Inc., Scenarios, Inc., EMC Network, Inc., GMA Kapuso Foundation, INQ7 Interactive, Inc., GMA Records, Mont-Aire and Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko.

Gozon was among the 61 awardees that included Reynato Puno, who were honored as UP’s distinguished alumni by the UP Alumni Association (UPAA) at the Araneta Coliseum on June 21, 2008. Gozon received an award for the Lapuz-Gozon family whose members up to the third generation studied in UP.

Jaime Zobel y Pfitz (born 1934), also known as Jaime Zobel de

Ayala, is a prominent Filipino businessman and photographer of German, Basque and Spanish descent. He was the last managing partner of Ayala y Compañía in 1967 when the company changed to a corporation. He served as both president and chairman of Ayala Corporation from 1983 to 2005 (succeeding his first cousin, Enrique Zobel, when he retired as president). In 2006, he retired as chairman; he is current chairman emeritus of the corporation. His eldest son, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, is chairman and chief executive officer of Ayala while his younger son, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, is president of the corporation. Honors include: Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France, 1980; Comendador al Mérito Civil, Spain, 1968; Doctor of Laws (honoris causa), University of the Philippines, 1991; “Management Man of the Year”, Management Association of the Philippines, 1987; Senator Award, highest honor bestowed by the Jaycees, 1986; Doctor of Business Management (honoris causa) De La Salle University, Manila, 1985

Zobel Graduated from Harvard College in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts in architectural sciences and attended the Advanced Management Program in the Far East conducted by the Faculty from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in Baguio City, Philippines in 1963. He was Philippine ambassador to the Court of St. James’s in London and the Scandinavian countries from 1970 to 1974. He is married to Beatriz Miranda Barcon Zobel de Ayala. Together they have 7 children: Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, 1959, married, Elizabeth Eder;Fernando Zobel de Ayala, 1960, married, Catherine Marie Silverio; Beatriz Susana Zobel de Ayala, 1961, widow, Juan Fernandez de Araoz Urquijo (deceased);Patrisha Zobel de Ayala, 1962, married, Walter Caro H. Anderson;Cristina Zobel de Ayala, 1964, married, Ignacio Fontes Suarez de Puga;Mónica Zobel de Ayala, 1967, married, Guillermo Otañez Pla; Sofía Zobel de Ayala, 1968, married, Francisco José Roxas Elizalde.

In 2007, Jaime Zobel de Ayala tied with Henry Sy as the richest person in the Philippines with a net worth of $2.6 Billion according to Forbes magazine. Zobel de Ayala and family, however, slipped to 3rd in Forbes magazine’s 2008 list of 40 wealthiest Filipinos due to 46% drop in their conglomerate Ayala Corp. shares, which were worth $800 million.

The February 2008 Forbes Asia magazine’s first Heroes of Philanthropy list included four Filipinos – Jaime Zobel de Ayala, John Gokongwei, Ramon del Rosario Jr., and Oscar Lopez. The list is composed of four philanthropists each from 13 selected countries and territories in Asia.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (born April 5, 1947, San Juan, Phil.)

Filipino politician who was president of the Philippines (2001–10).

Arroyo's father, Diosdado P. Macapagal, was president of the Philippines from 1961 to 1965. Arroyo studied economics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she began a lasting friendship with classmate and future U.S. president Bill Clinton. After returning to the Philippines and graduating magna cum laude from Assumption College in Manila in 1968, Arroyo earned a master's degree in economics (1978) from Ateneo de Manila University and a doctorate in economics (1986) from the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

Arroyo was a university professor when Pres. Corazon Aquino appointed her undersecretary of trade and industry in 1986. She won a seat in the Senate in 1992 and was reelected in 1995 by a record 16 million votes. She was elected vice president in 1998, garnering more votes than the winner of the presidency, Joseph Estrada, who named Arroyo secretary of social welfare and development. In 2000, however, a corruption scandal enveloped Estrada, and on October 12 Arroyo resigned from the cabinet post to rally opposition against him. Angry protesters drove Estrada from the presidential residence on Jan. 20, 2001, and Arroyo assumed power.

Arroyo brought an unprecedented academic and administrative background to the Philippines presidency, but her tenure was plagued by political unrest. Just months after she took office, some 20,000 supporters of Estrada stormed the gates of the presidential palace. Several people were killed, and Arroyo declared a “state of rebellion” that lasted five days. In 2003 disaffected soldiers seized a Manila apartment building and demanded Arroyo's resignation; the attempted coup was suppressed peacefully. Promising to reduce corruption and improve the economy, Arroyo was reelected president in 2004. However, accusations that she rigged the election emerged the following year and resulted in a failed attempt at impeachment. In 2006 Arroyo declared a countrywide state of emergency after a military coup was blocked; the state of emergency was lifted after about one week. Terrorism was also a concern for Arroyo's administration. Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that sought a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines, was responsible for a number of attacks, including the 2004 bombing of a ferry that killed more than 100 people.

In late 2009, after members of a politically powerful clan in Mindanao were implicated in the massacre of a political opponent and his entourage there, Arroyo briefly declared martial law in the region. She also renounced ties with the clan, which until then had been a political ally. Constitutionally barred from seeking another six-year presidential term, she ran for and won a seat in the House of Representatives in the May 2010 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Eduardo Murphy Cojuangco, Jr. (born June 10, 1935) ,

also known as Danding Cojuangco, is the chairman of San Miguel Corporation, the largest food and beverage corporation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, former Philippine ambassador, and former governor of Tarlac.

He was a candidate for the Philippine presidency in 1992, ultimately losing to Fidel V. Ramos. He tested the political waters in 2003, planning to run in the 2004 Presidential and Local Elections, but soon withdrew. He was a close adviser and personal friend to former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, which led him to become estranged from his cousin, Corazon Aquino, who after Marcos' ouster succeeded him as president. Cojuangco is of partial Irish, Spanish, and Chinese descent.

Cojuangco was a member of the Rolex 12, a group of 12 men who were closest to Marcos and allegedly were his enforcers of Martial Law. He is also an honorary member of PMA Class 1951. Cojuangco also was accused by the military men at the scene of Benigno Aquino, Jr.'s assassination, as the leader who orchestrated the crime.

He is currently the chairman emeritus of the Nationalist People's Coalition, the party he founded in 1992 which served as his vehicle to further his aspirations in the 1992 presidential elections.

He was also an advocate for sports in the country through using his company as sponsors for various events. He is notable for supporting basketball in a huge way since the 1980s as a basketball godfather for President Marcos with the famed Northern Consolidated teams of coach Ron Jacobs and the three SMC owned teams currently playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (the flagship Petron Blaze Boosters, the Barangay Ginebra Kings, and the B-Meg Llamados).

He studied at San Beda College, De La Salle University, University of the Philippines, Los Baños and California State College.

Besides English and Tagalog, he speaks Ilocano, the dialect of his mother and Kapampangan, the original dialect of the Cojuangcos.

He is mostly photographed wearing plaid shirts or traditional Filipino formal wear, the Barong Tagalog.

Mr. Jose Paredes Leviste, Joey, Jr. serves as the Chief Executive

Officer of Politstrat International Inc. Mr. Leviste served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mirant Asia Philippines Corporation since April 2006. Mr. Leviste also served as a Senior Vice President of Mirant Corporation since April 23, 2006. During his private-sector career, he served as Vice Chairman and Treasurer of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Philippine National Oil Company's (PNOC) FILOIL Development and Management Corporation. He began his professional life with Caltex Philippines Inc. and Proctor & Gamble, Philippines, working in budgeting and accounting functions. Mr. Leviste has a distinguished, 13-year public sector career with the Government of the Philippines during which he served as Secretary General of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet from 1983 to 1986 and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry from 1980 to 1987. He served as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, and Executive Director of the Energy Development Board. He serves as a Representative of the Australia-Philippine Business Council and in 2005 was appointed as a Commissioner to the Consultative Commission tasked with advising the Philippines'. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Oceana Gold (Philippines), Inc. He has been Chairman of Climax Arimco Mining Corporation (CAMC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Climax Mining Ltd., since July 2003 and Chairman of the Board of Mirant Asia Philippines Corporation of Mirant Corp. since April 2006. He serves as Chairman of Politstrat International Inc., Pacific Rim Innovation and Management Exponents (PRIMEX) Inc. and Philippine Business Leaders Forum (PBLF), the country associate of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Corporate Network. He has been a Director of OceanaGold Corporation since December 10, 2007. He has been a Director of Mirant Asia Philippines Corporation since April 2006 and Climax-Arirnco Mining Corp. since July 2003. He has been an Independent Director of Philippine Tobacco Flue-curing & Redrying Corp. since January 1998. Mr. Leviste holds a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University, an MA in Economics from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Ateneo de Manila University.

José Encarnación, Jr. (born November 17, 1928, Manila; died July 5,

1998, Quezon City) was professor of economics at the University of the Philippines, where he served as dean of the School of Economics from 1974 until his retirement in 1994. Encarnación was educated at the University of the Philippines (PhB, MA Philosophy) and at Princeton University (PhD Economics). At Princeton he was a student and dissertation advisee of William J. Baumol. The only Filipino economist of his generation to work in the field of theory, Encarnación was best known for advancing the theory of lexicographic preferences, which in the words of Richard Day, Encarnación "almost singlehandedly kept alive". In 1987 he was named National Scientist, the highest recognition of scientific achievement given by the Republic of the Philippines. In 2008, the main building of the School of Economics at the University of the Philippines was renamed Encarnación Hall in his honor.

John L. Gokongwei, Jr. Is a Chinese Filipino businessman with

holdings in telecommunications, financial services, petrochemicals, power generation, aviation and live stock farming. As of 2011, Gokongwei is the third richest entrepreneur in the Philippines with a networth of $2.4 billion, ranking behind only to Lucio Tan and Henry Sy.

He is the chairman of JG Summit Holdings, one of largest conglomerates in the Philippines. In 2005, his company spent $700 million of internally generated funds which was used to buy new aircraft for his airline, Cebu Pacific Air. From 2003 up to the present his telecom company Digitel Telecommunications Philippines spent nearly $800 million for its mobile carrier, Sun Cellular which is the 3rd largest mobile operator in the Philippines as of 2008. He is currently negotiating a $1 billion takeover of UIC[disambiguation needed], a property giant from Singapore of which he owns in excess of 30%. UIC[disambiguation needed] controls Singapore Land, one of the biggest property landlord in Singapore. Gokongwei also owns Universal Robina Corporation, one of the largest manufacturer of snacks in the Philippines. He also controls Robinsons Land one of the biggest property developers in the Philippines which also operates a chain of malls.

He was born into a wealthy Cebu-based family, originally from China's Fujian province. The family fortune was lost when his affluent father died. He started his business career during World War II, buying and selling rice, clothing and scrap metal. He is married, and has six children. His only son, Lance Gokongwei, is now in charge of the Gokongwei Empire, serving as president and COO while his father serves as Chairman Emeritus.

On August 29, 2007, at the Ateneo de Manila University, Gokongwei’s biography, “John L. Gokongwei Jr.: The Path of Entrepreneurship” by the University’s Dr. Marites A. Khanser, was launched, and it narrated the “riches-to-rags-to-riches” story of the tai-pan. Gokongwei stated that entrepreneurship is a way out of poverty. Khanser's book also enumerated the Nine Rules of business success that Gokongwei followed since he was still a young businessman. In 2002 Gokongwei donated P200-million to the undergraduate school of management. He also gave donations to University of San Carlos, Xavier School, De La Salle University, Sacred Heart School and Immaculate Conception Academy.

On February, 2008, Forbes Asia magazine’s first Heroes of Philanthropy list included 4 Filipinos - Jaime Zobel de Ayala, John Gokongwei, Ramón del Rosario Jr., and Óscar López.The list is composed of 4 philanthropists each from 13 selected countries and territories in Asia.

Solita Collas-Monsod, popularly known as Mareng Winnie, is a

Filipino broadcaster, host, economist, professor, and writer.

Professor Monsod is best remembered for her role as Socio-economic Planning Secretary during the term of President Corazon Aquino and as a co-host in the GMA Network show Debate with Mare and Pare with former Pangasinan Governor and 1998 vice presidential candidate Oscar Orbos.

Monsod graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree, Cum Laude at the University of the Philippines in 1959. She obtained a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 and became a Ph.D. Economics Candidate, having completed all requirements except her dissertation, in 1963.

Monsod has been teaching in the University of the Philippines School of Economics since 1963. In 2005, she was nominated to be the President of the University of the Philippines System, an office tasked with the management of all UP campuses nationwide. In 2010, she was named Professor Emeritus of the university.

Currently, Monsod hosts the weekly segment Analysis in the news program News on Q on QTV Network. She also writes a bi-weekly column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Monsod was the Cabinet Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning from 1986 to 1989 during the administration of President Corazon Aquino. She was concurrently Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the economic policy research agency of the Philippine government.

Monsod ran for the Senate of the Philippines under the administration party of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, People Power Coalition in the 2001 national elections but lost.

In 2005, Monsod became an outspoken critic of Arroyo upon massive allegations of election cheating, graft and corruption.

Winnie Monsod was a member of the UN Committee for Development Planning (UNCDP) from 1987 to 2000 and the Board of Trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on January 1996. She was also a member of the Board of Advisors of Human Development Report on 1993 and the Board of Advisors of South Centre, which as established to follow-up the recommendations of the South Commission, organized in 1987 at the initiative of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia and chaired by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, from 1991 to 1995. The Commission issued a report in 1990 entitled The Challenge of the South which has since been translated in five languages.

Solita Monsod is married to Christian S. Monsod, a corporate executive and one-time Chairman of the Philippine Commission on Elections. They have five children holding different careers.

Dr. Felipe M. Medalla served as Dean at university of the

Philippines. Dr. Medalla served at NEDA as Director General and Secretary of Scocioeconomic planning form July 1998 to January 2001. Former Independent Director and Chairman of Audit Committee, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. He served as Vice President for Planning and Finance of UP from 1989 to 1991. He serves as a Director of PNOC-Exploration Corp. Dr. Medalla served as an Independent Director of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. until May 2011. Dr. Medalla served as the President of the Philippine Economics Soceity. He is Chairman of the foundation for Economic Freedom, an NGO. He is a Professor at the school of Economics of the university of the Philippines. He teaches public finance macroeconomics and microeconomics. He also taught courses in urban and regional economics and regulatory economics. He has written papers on a wide range of topics such as the economics of land conversion, tax reform, public debt management, population policy and errors in the measurement of philippine economic growth. He has undergraduate degress in Economics and Accounting from De La Salle university, an MA in Economics from UP and a Ph.D in Economics from Northwestern University.

Bernardo Villegas is a Filipino writer, thinker and economist. He

was a member of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the Philippine Constitution under the government of former President Corazon Aquino. He has been an advisor of the recent Philippine Presidents. He is currently a University Professor and Senior Vice-President at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), the Chairman of the Center for Research and Communication, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Makati Business Club. He is visiting professor at IESE.

He is a Certified Public Accountant, having been one of the CPA board topnotchers in 1958. He obtained Bachelor's Degree in Commerce and the Humanities (both Summa Cum Laude) from De La Salle University where he established a record by obtaining straight A's in the LIACOM course, a five-year program he finished in four years. He earned his doctorate degree in economics at the Harvard University. At the age of 21, Prof Villegas was one of the youngest ever to be a teaching fellow at Harvard's College of Arts and Sciences.

He sits on the boards of a large number of corporations, both Filipino and International, that operate in sectors and industries including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, power, banking, IT, infrastructure, transportation and engineering. Dr Villegas also sits on the boards of directors or advisory boards of leading national and multinational firms. He is also a consultant on management development and strategic planning for leading firms, non-government organizations and through his work with UA&P he is often asked to give advice to top government officials in many policy issues.

He was a member of the founding Executive Board of the Makati Business Club, together with Enrique Zobel and former Ambassador Joe Romero. The main thrust of the MBC is to foster and promote the role of the private business sector in national development efforts. He continues to be a member of the Board of Trustees of the Makati Business Club.

He is an author of seven books and articles in Global Nation. He has authored several economics textbooks widely used in Philippine schools and universities and also has written a number of management best sellers.

Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata (b. December 12, 1930) is

a former Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981-1986 under the Interim Batasang Pambansa and the Regular Batasang Pambansa. One of the Philippines' business leaders and leading technocrats, he served as Finance Minister from 1970 during the Marcos regime and also through election became Prime Minister in 1981. He concurrently was Finance Minister throughout the 80's. He is the grandnephew of the first Philippine President, Emilio Aguinaldo.

He had a term as Minister of Finance from 1970 to 1986. It was during this time that the Philippines became economically strong through healthy trade and budgetary surpluses. However, other studies show budgetary deficits during the same period (PIDS, Budget Deficits, 2004, 4(1)), particularly during the later years of the Marcos regime. These deficits were precipitated by the oil crises' and the mass protests against the Marcos regime (supported by the international financial community) following the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.

He was replaced as prime minister, eventually through revolution, by Salvador Laurel. Laurel became the Prime Minister on February 25, 1986, through the appointment of Corazon Aquino. The position was abolished one month later by Proclamation No. 3 of Aquino, and confirmed later by the 1987 Constitution.

He is married to Phylita Joy Gamboa, a popular stage actress, and has three children: Steven Cesar, a businessman, Gillian Joyce, an international policy analyst, and Michael Dean, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases. Virata is also an accomplished tennis player.

Jon Ramon Aboitiz, is a Filipino businessman, and the president of the

Aboitiz & Co., and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., part of the Aboitiz Group. Aboitiz descends from a Spanish family in Cebu, with ancestry tracing back to the Basque Country in northern Spain.

He started with the Aboitiz Group in 1970, after graduating from the University of Santa Clara, California with a degree of B.S. Commerce, major in Management. From a manager he became its president in 1976 and in 1991 became president of Aboitiz & Co. of the Aboitiz Shipping Corp.,

He now holds various positions in the Aboitiz Group, including chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Davao Light & Power Co., Inc., chairman of Veco and Aboitiz Jebsen Bulk Transport Corp., and director of Hapag-Lloyed Phils., Cotabato Ice Plant Inc. and Bukidnon Hydropower Corp.

Aboitiz also serves as trustee of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., the Aboitiz Group Foundation Inc. and the Association of Philippine Foundations, and is a member of the Board of Advisors, Washington Sycip Policy Forum at the Asian Institute of Management.