Dr. Bernie Villegas

One of Asia’s most prominent and connected economists, Dr. Bernie Villegas, presents his views on the economic and political future of Philippines and the region surrounding it. Some of the issues discussed included: -Philippines has had a good run over the past decade but when will it end? -What are the growth sectors of the future? -When will growth in remittances and BPO come to an end? -Will the next government sustain the economic momentum or destroy it? -Will slowdowns in Japan, China, Europe and elsewhere spread to Philippines? Bernardo Villegas is a Visiting Professor of IESE Business School in Barcelona, Professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) and Research Director of the Center for Research and Communication, Manila. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University (1963) and is a Certified Public Accountant, having been one of the CPA board topnotchers in 1958. He obtained Bachelor’s degrees 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. At Harvard, at the age of 21, he was one of the youngest ever to be a teaching fellow in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of several economics textbooks widely used in Philippine schools and universities. He has also written a number of management best-sellers like The Philippine Advantage, Book of Virtues and Values, Productivity: Path to Global Competitiveness, The Filipino Phenomenon, and The Philippines at the Threshold of the Third Millennium. He has received several prestigious awards such as the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM), 1972, Fulbright, Johnson Foundation, Asia Foundation and the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica. He is currently a member of the boards of directors or advisory boards of leading national and multinational firms, such as the Benguet Corporation, Insular Life, Alaska Corporation, PHINMA Property Holding Corporation, Rolls Royce and Dupont. He served in the boards of Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, McDonalds and IBM. Download Dr. Bernie Villegas' presentation below.