State think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies welcomed former Energy Secretary Atty. Raphael Perpetuo M. Lotilla last December 16 as the new member of its Board of Trustees. He took his oath before PIDS Board Chairman and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan at the NEDA Head Office in Pasig.
Atty. Lotilla brings to the Board his vast experience from years of government service and leadership. He replaces Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon-Bautista whose term as PIDS Board member ended.
Aside from his stint at the Department of Energy from 2005 to 2007, Atty. Lotilla’s sterling credentials include teaching at the University of the Philippines College of Law, and serving as former Deputy Director General of NEDA, President and CEO of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), and the Regional Programme Director of Partnerships in Environmental Managements for the Seas of East Asia.
Representing NEDA Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, NEDA Deputy Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra confidently assured that, `with his participation in the PIDS Board of Trustees, the PIDS will continue to be the respected and prestigious institution that it is.`
Atty. Lotilla was grateful for the welcome. He used the moment to thank his co-honoree and outgoing board member Dr. Banzon-Bautista. `The legacy that she leaves is a challenge not only for me but to all those who will be succeeding her,` he said.
Dr. Banzon-Bautista, currently a CHED commissioner, was lauded at the dinner event by her peers and colleagues for eight years of meritorious service as member of the Board.
`Besides being a sociologist and educator, she is one of the country’s voices for educational reforms, and she has held many roles in her career: as a professor, researcher, department chair, dean, policy research director, CHED commissioner, and member of international advisory boards – the list goes on,` enumerated Dr. Sheila V. Siar of the PIDS Research Information Department who served as the event`s master of ceremonies.
PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Aniceto C. Orbeta added to the praise, `I`ll not be very off if I say because of her words of endorsement for PIDS, PIDS has become respected by many universities. Because of that, and on behalf of the PIDS research family, I`d like to say thanks.`
Esguerra, on behalf of Secretary Balisacan, presented Dr. Bautista with a plaque of recognition and appreciation for `her distinguished contributions to the sociological aspects of the Institute’s development policy research agenda and program, and her genuine concern for the welfare of the institute as a whole.`
PIDS President Gilberto Llanto reflected, It`s the good fortune of PIDS that the membership of the board comes from the rank of professionals and people with integrity. [That way] it`s shielded from political intervention. That`s the secret behind the kind of reputation and good name that PIDS has earned through the years. We`ll continue with this, and it will be so in the future.`
The honorees both expressed their appreciation over the festivities and their sincere and deepest gratitude to the Institute. Dr. Bautista bid her colleagues an amicable farewell, `I`m very proud of PIDS, and I know you will be moving from strength to strength. Thank you very much, I`m not used to this, but I am deeply touched.`
Atty. Lotilla brings to the Board his vast experience from years of government service and leadership. He replaces Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon-Bautista whose term as PIDS Board member ended.
Aside from his stint at the Department of Energy from 2005 to 2007, Atty. Lotilla’s sterling credentials include teaching at the University of the Philippines College of Law, and serving as former Deputy Director General of NEDA, President and CEO of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), and the Regional Programme Director of Partnerships in Environmental Managements for the Seas of East Asia.
Representing NEDA Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, NEDA Deputy Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra confidently assured that, `with his participation in the PIDS Board of Trustees, the PIDS will continue to be the respected and prestigious institution that it is.`
Atty. Lotilla was grateful for the welcome. He used the moment to thank his co-honoree and outgoing board member Dr. Banzon-Bautista. `The legacy that she leaves is a challenge not only for me but to all those who will be succeeding her,` he said.
Dr. Banzon-Bautista, currently a CHED commissioner, was lauded at the dinner event by her peers and colleagues for eight years of meritorious service as member of the Board.
`Besides being a sociologist and educator, she is one of the country’s voices for educational reforms, and she has held many roles in her career: as a professor, researcher, department chair, dean, policy research director, CHED commissioner, and member of international advisory boards – the list goes on,` enumerated Dr. Sheila V. Siar of the PIDS Research Information Department who served as the event`s master of ceremonies.
PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Aniceto C. Orbeta added to the praise, `I`ll not be very off if I say because of her words of endorsement for PIDS, PIDS has become respected by many universities. Because of that, and on behalf of the PIDS research family, I`d like to say thanks.`
Esguerra, on behalf of Secretary Balisacan, presented Dr. Bautista with a plaque of recognition and appreciation for `her distinguished contributions to the sociological aspects of the Institute’s development policy research agenda and program, and her genuine concern for the welfare of the institute as a whole.`
PIDS President Gilberto Llanto reflected, It`s the good fortune of PIDS that the membership of the board comes from the rank of professionals and people with integrity. [That way] it`s shielded from political intervention. That`s the secret behind the kind of reputation and good name that PIDS has earned through the years. We`ll continue with this, and it will be so in the future.`
The honorees both expressed their appreciation over the festivities and their sincere and deepest gratitude to the Institute. Dr. Bautista bid her colleagues an amicable farewell, `I`m very proud of PIDS, and I know you will be moving from strength to strength. Thank you very much, I`m not used to this, but I am deeply touched.`
