If Randy Spence is PEP's grandfather, Celia Reyes is its mother.
When PEP was launched in 2002 as a partnership of the Angelo King Institute (AKI) in the Philippines and Université Laval in Canada, Celia and John Cockburn were named its co-directors, representing each institution, respectively. They remained so for most of PEP's first ten years of existence.
Celia had previously led the first project in PEP's predecessor, the Micro Impacts for Macro and Adjustment Policies (MIMAP) program, in the 1990s. Find out more about MIMAP in PEP pioneers: Randy Spence.
Celia spearheaded PEP's Community-Based Monitoring Systems (CBMS) program. She led the program's expansion from Asia to Africa and Latin America. Thanks to her leadership, CBMS continues to play a central role in guiding, monitoring and evaluating the impacts of government spending in the Philippines and around the world.
"It has been a fulfilling experience to help establish PEP, a platform where Southern researchers can provide research-based inputs to national and subnational policymakers, while at the same time, empowering communities.
PEP has provided me an excellent opportunity to work with experts and researchers who are deeply committed to fostering evidence-based policies and programs."
- Celia Reyes
While Celia was instrumental in launching and developing PEP, she did not do it alone. Celia had the support of an outstanding team at AKI, including Anne Bernadette Mandap, Marsmath Baris Jr., Joel Bancolita, Jasminda A. Quilitis and Steffie Joi Calubayan.
Both Celia and PEP also benefited from the excellent support and advice of the late Ponciano S. Intal Jr., a long-time member of PEP’s Board of Directors and champion of PEP since its beginnings.
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