Cielito F. Habito

Biography

  CIELITO F. HABITO, born April 20, 1953, Filipino, is a nominee for election as Independent Director of the company.  An accomplished economist, Dr. Habito is a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance (INCITEGov), an Independent Trustee of BPI Foundation and Manila Water Foundation, an Independent Director of One Wealthy Nation (OWN) Fund, Chairman of the Board of Advisers of TeaM Energy Center for Bridging Leadership-Asian Institute of Management, Member of the Advisory Committee of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-Philippines, Member of the Council of Advisers of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, and Member of the National Advisory Council of WWF Philippines, among others. Dr. Habito is the recipient of numerous awards including the Philippine Legion of Honor (1998), The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award (for Economics) in 1991, Most Outstanding Alumnus of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) in 1993, and the Gawad Lagablab (Outstanding Alumnus Award) of the Philippine Science High School in 1991.  He served in the Cabinet of former President Fidel V. Ramos throughout his 6-year presidency in 1992-1998 as Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), making him the country’s chief economic planner through most of the 1990s.  He is presently a Professor of Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University and heads the USAID Trade-Related Assistance for Development (TRADE) Project.  He also writes the weekly column “No Free Lunch” in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.  Dr. Habito holds Ph.D. in Economics (1984) and Master of Arts (1981) degrees, both from Harvard University, a Master of Economics (1978) degree from the University of New England in Australia, and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (1975) degree from UPLB where he graduated summa cum laude. He was elected as an Independent Director during the May 11, 2016 annual general meeting of First Gen, increasing the Company’s independent directors from two to three.

Research Interest

 Research on Microbiological Studies