The Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, added former Finance undersecretary Romeo Bernardo as its new member.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona administered the oath of office to Bernardo in a ceremony held at the BSP head office in Manila Thursday. Bernardo will have a six-year term starting Sept.14, 2023.
The Monetary Board is headed by Remolona who concurrently serves as its chairman. The board members include Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, V. Bruce Tolentino, Anita Linda Aquino and Bernardo. Incoming board member Rosalia de Leon, who is the National Treasurer, will take her oath of office in the coming days.
Bernardo was undersecretary of the Department of Finance from 1990 to 1996 and worked at multilateral institutions including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank.
He has gained extensive private sector experience having served on the board of directors of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Monde Nissin, RFM Corp. and Philippine Investment Management Inc.
He was also chairman of the ALFM Family of Mutual Funds, lead Philippine advisor to GlobalSource Partners, co-founder and vice chair of the Foundation for Economic Freedom and co-founder and president of financial advisory firm Lazaro Bernardo Tiu & Associates Inc.
Bernardo earned his Master of Arts in Development Economics from Williams College, Massachusetts. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines.