BSP Governor Eli Remolona, Jr. (left), administered the oath of office to new Monetary Board member Romeo L. Bernardo in a ceremony held on September 14, 2023 at the BSP Headquarters in Manila.
MANILA – After nearly three decades, economist Romeo Bernardo returned to his “first love”: working on public sector policies.
On September 14, Bernardo was sworn in as the newest member of the Monetary Board, the governing body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr., who administered Bernardo’s oath of office, posted on social network X, formerly Twitter, that he was excited to welcome Bernardo to the board.
“I am confident that his ideas will be invaluable to the board,” Remolona said.
“The Bangko Sentral is delighted to have you on board and looks forward to working with you. Together, we will continue to uphold the mandate of the BSP and positively impact the Philippine economy.
Bernardo, who will serve a six-year term, joined Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Bruce Tolentino and Anita Linda Aquino on the Monetary Board. Tax policy veteran Rosalia de Leon, who retired as national treasurer, is expected to be sworn in in the coming days, but another board seat remains vacant as of today.
Bernardo served as Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance from 1990 to 1996 during the tenure of President Ramos, working with then-Finance Secretary Robert de Ocampo.
He has worked in multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.
He also brings extensive experience in the private sector, having served on the board of directors of major publicly traded companies such as Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Monde Nissin and RFM Corp.
He chaired the ALFM family of mutual funds and was a board member of Philippine Investment Management, Inc.
Bernardo was a Filipino advisor to the New York-based think tank GlobalSource Partners and had written insightful analyzes on economic and socio-political issues.
He is co-founder and vice president of the advocacy group Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF). Following his appointment to the Monetary Board, he resigned as vice president but still serves on the FEF board, as when former president Felipe Medalla was appointed to the Monetary Board 12 years ago.
Bernardo is also co-founder and president of the financial consulting firm Lazaro Bernardo Tiu & Associates, Inc.
He received his Master of Arts in Development Economics from Williams College, Massachusetts and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines.
Your subscription could not be saved. Try Again.
Your subscription was successful.
Read next
To subscribe to APPLICANT MORE to access The Philippine Daily Inquirer and over 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to news, download as early as 4 a.m. and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, Contact us.
