Vicente B. Valdepenas Jr.
Vicente B. Valdepeñas Jr. is known for his finance and economic contributions to various institutions. He was the fourth Minister of Economic Planning and the concurrent Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) from 1983 to 1986.[1] In 2007, he was assigned the Chairperson of the Special Committee in evaluating the Philippine Statistical System, particularly in undertaking a strategic review of the operations and organizations of the country’s statistical system.[2]
Alongside working in the government, Valdepeñas Jr. also served as President of The Philippine Statistical Association from 1985 to 1986[3] where he received a special award during the Golden Jubilee 2002 in celebration of its 50th anniversary.[4] Consequently, the same association awarded him the Tito Mijares Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.[5] Before this, he was the Chairperson of the Philippine Social Science Council where he was a member of the Council’s Social Science Center Committee.[6]
Dr. Valdepeñas’ economic contribution as a bank professional expanded internationally as he became a consultant of Citibank concerning rationalization of bank investment portfolio, and external debt rescheduling in 1986. In 1990, he also worked as a consultant of the Swedish International Development Authority on Bank Supervision.[7] He also became the Director and Chief Executive of the Southeast Asian Central Banks Training Center in Kuala Lumpur from 1987 to 1996. Before performing these significant economic duties, Valdepeñas was a member of the Parliament from 1983 to 1984 and was the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry from 1976 to 1983.[1]
Dr. Valdepeñas is also prominent as a former member of the Monetary Board and a current consultant of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) where he edited two books. The first one is The Bangko Sentral & the Philippine Economy published in 2005, which won the National Book Award for Business and Economics of the Manila Critics Circle in 2006, and the second one is the Central Banking in Challenging Times: The Philippine Experience published in 2009.[8] Aside from these, he has several publications including Central Banking Training at The SEACEN Centre, a paper that outlines the development of central banking training activities at The SEACEN Centre from 1972 to 1992.[9]
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Ateneo de Manila University[6] and a Ph.D. in the same discipline from Cornell University where he also taught economics.[1]
[1] Notes on the Contributors. (1998). Public Policy. UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies.
[3] Brief Historical Background. (n.d.). Philippine Statistical Association, Inc.
[5] Recognition Awards to Members. (n.d.). Philippine Statistical Association, Inc.
[6] The Philippine Social Science Center. (1983). Social Science Information, A Special Issue.
[7] Vicente B Valdepenas: Former Board Member, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (n.d.). Bloomberg.
