De Leon, Bernardo named to BSP’s Monetary Board

MANILA, Philippines — National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon and former finance undersecretary Romeo Bernardo were named new members of the seven-member Monetary Board, according to the Presidential Communication Office.

De Leon and Bernardo join Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Monetary Board chairman Eli Remolona Jr., Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, V. Bruce Tolentino and Anita Linda Aquino in the central bank’s policy making body.

Malacañang has yet to name the last member of the Monetary Board. Three seats were vacated by former BSP governor Felipe Medalla, Antonio Abacan Jr. and Peter Favila after their terms expired early July.

De Leon was reappointed as Treasurer of the Philippines for the third time by President Marcos Jr. on July 18, 2022. As Treasurer of the Philippines, she directs the formulation of policies on borrowing, investment and capital market development. She also handles the formulation of adequate operations guidelines for fiscal and financial policies.

Prior to her designation, De Leon served as the Alternate Executive Director (for the constituency of Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Philippines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago) at the World Bank Group, Washington D.C.

De Leon also assumed key positions in the Department of Finance (DOF), including undersecretary for International Finance Group from July 2007 to November 2012, Finance Secretary’s chief of staff from July 2005 to June 2010 and director for International Finance Group from September 1995 to August 1998.

De Leon also served as advisor to the Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from August 1998 to August 2004. As the undersecretary for the International Finance Group, she task managed several landmark transactions including the issuance of Global Peso Notes as well as several Liability Management Exercises to reduce funding costs, extend maturity profiles and redenominate foreign exchange liabilities to local currency.

She has represented the DOF in many international fund mobilization activities for public sector entities and formulated borrowing strategies and appropriate credit enhancements to access least cost financing options.

De Leon earned her Master of Arts in Development Economics from Williams College, Massachusetts.

Bernardo, on the other hand, also served as undersecretary of the DOF and alternate executive director of ADB. He was also an advisor of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Bernardo is a member of the Philippine World Bank Advisory Group and a member of the Panel of Conciliators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

He is a Managing Director of Lazaro Bernardo Tiu and Associates (LBT), a financial advisory firm based in Manila and an country analyst for the Philippines at New York-based GlobalSource Partners.

He is a director of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, among others.