Angel Alcala - Filipino Biologist

Angel Chua Alcala

Angel Chua Alcala (b. 1 March 1929) is a Filipino marine biologist who was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 1992. He has done extensive work on Community Development in conjunction with Marine Development and Ecology, Marine Biogeography, and Marine Life Conservation.

Early life

Angel C. Alcala was born to Porfirio Alcala and Crescenciana Chua on 1 March 1929 in the small coastal village of Caliling, Cauayan, Negros Occidental. The Alcala household was a humble one, but the family had everything it needed as they lived where the products of the sea were bountiful.

Alcala attended high school on a scholarship at Kabankalan Academy. He was active in co-curricular activities as he took part in the school's [[Boy Scouts of the Philippines|Boy Scout troop], and was a member of the school's debate team.

In 1948, Alcala took a pre-medical course at Silliman University in Dumaguete. He was later accepted at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine but chose not to proceed because of his family's financial circumstances. Instead, he continued to study Biology at Silliman University and graduated magna cum laude in 1951.

Alcala's life-long interest in marine ecology started at an early age. His father was a fish farmer who made a living out of taking care of fish ponds that produced a steady supply of milkfish. As the eldest child, Alcala helped his father tend the fish ponds. He and his brothers also spent much of their time going after crabs, shrimp and shellfish and exploring the shallow waters and coral reefs near their home.

Dr. Angel Alcala has devoted more than 30 years studying how to conserve the marine ecosystems throughout Southeast Asia. What make him do this? It’s the fact that the sea is threatened because of the very riches it holds.

Dr. Alcala is an authority on community ecology, biogeography, and the systematic of amphibians and reptiles. He developed the first community-based program that created artificial coral reefs. This program became the model for similar fisheries development programs throughout establishing the Apo, Sumilon, Carbin, an Pamilacan marine reserves in the Philippines, Alcala is also the Director of the Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management.

Having written more than 60 scientific papers, Dr. Alcala believes that marine reserves have a significant role in ensuring fish abundance even in areas beyond the protected sanctuaries. This process, called “spillover,” is the focus of his work with the Pew Institute for Ocean Science. To set up more effective marine sanctuaries local communities and organizations to manage and protect the sanctuaries. Dr. Alcala believes that sustainable development it’s only possible through informed and committed human involvement.

Dr. Alcala has headed the Institute of Marine Biology at the University of the Philippines and was deputy executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development. He has been a visiting researcher at various universities and establishments, including the University of Florida and the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Alcala has also worked for the Philippine government as secretary of Environment and National Resources, and as chairman of the Commission on Higher Education.

Angel Alcala - Degrees:

• Undergraduate degree Silliman University

• Ph.D. Stanford University

Angel Alcala - Awards:

• 1994 - The Field Museum Founders' Council Award of Merit for contributions to environmental biology

• Magsaysay Award for Public Service

• Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation

Work with Philippine Amphibians & Reptiles:

Angel Alcala has done the most comprehensive studies on Philippine amphibians and reptiles, and minor studies on birds and mammals. His research was done between 1954 to 1999 lead to the addition of fifty new species of amphibians and reptiles.

Jesli A. Lapus

Jesli A. Lapus

Jesli A. Lapus is the Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd)2007-2010. Prior to his cabinet appointment, Lapus was known as a top professional manager in the manufacturing and financial sectors, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a college professor, and a member of the House of Representatives for three consecutive terms, serving from 1998 to 2007.

Lapus was born on September 12, 1949 in Tarlac, Tarlac. He attended the Little Flower Academy (Holy Spirit Academy) in Tarlac for his elementary and secondary education. In 1969, he earned a BS in Accountancy from the St. Louis University in Baguio City, finishing college in three years and subsequently passing the accountancy board exams at the age of 19. He further honed his management skills by enrolling in the Masters in Business Management (MBM) program of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and graduating in 1973. In 1998, Lapus was conferred a doctorate in public administration (honoris causa) by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).

Lapus also attended several post-graduate studies, excelling each time in the following fields:

Investment Appraisals and Management – Harvard University, United States of America (USA)

Management of Transfer of Technology – INSEAD, France

Project Management – BITS, Sweden

Personal Financial Planning – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA

Private sector

The management career of Lapus started at a very young age. This earned for him the title, “Management Whiz Kid in the ASEAN,” given by Asian Finance international magazine. At 20, he worked as an auditor and consultant at SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Company (SGV & Co.). He then became the chief financial officer (CFO) of the Ramcar Group of Companies at age 23, and helped propel Ramcar to become the country's undisputed leader in the battery industry. From 1979 to 1986, Lapus worked as managing director and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Triumph International (Philippines), Inc. He also worked in the banking sector, serving as director of Union Bank of the Philippines from 1988 to 1992.

Lapus also shared his management expertise in the academe. He was among the original core faculty members of AIM's Masters in Development Management program and has taught at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and Maryknoll College (now Miriam College). He has also conducted executive training courses in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Executive Branch of Government

Lapus' expertise did not go unnoticed by two former presidents. From 1987 to 1989, he served as undersecretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) under the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Fund and the Support Services Sector of DAR.

During the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos, Lapus served as president, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and vice chairman of the board of directors of Land Bank of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. Under his leadership, the bank rose to become the 3rd biggest in the banking industry and the best performing government financial institution (GFI).

Legislative Branch of the Government

In 1998, Lapus was elected member of the House of Representatives, representing the 3rd district of Tarlac. He was reelected twice and was unopposed when he ran for his third and last term in the 2004 elections. In Congress, Lapus initiated important legislations pertaining to education, teachers' rights, suffrage, and other social issues.

Lapus exposed and helped streamline the in famous multibillion peso automatic payroll deductions scheme at DepEd which has adversely affected the net take home pay of public school teachers. This practice has been considered a major cause of teachers' low morale, thus, affecting the quality of Philippine education. Lapus was recognized for this effort and was honored with the title, "Champion of Public School Teachers," by teachers' associations.

In his capacity as chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral reforms during his second term, Lapus sponsored the Overseas Absentee Voting Law. This law allowed Filipinos living and working overseas to vote, beginning in the 2004 national elections. He also sponsored the World Trade Organization (WTO) Safeguard Measures Law in 1999. Starting the year 2000, Lapus was also principal author of inquiries and bills on preneed companies. These measures led to timely Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, years before the controversial collapse of a number of preneed companies.

Mr. Jesli A. Lapus is a Secretary of Department of Trade and Industry. Mr. Lapus serves as Director of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. He has been Director of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. since August 18, 2010.

PROFESSIONAL/CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS

• Management Association of the Philippines (past Governor)
• Bankers Association of the Philippines (past Treasurer)
• Alumni Association of the Asian Institute of Management (past President)
• Young Presidents Organization (YPO)
• FINEX, PICPA, PCCI, PMAP, GBAP
• Museo Pambata (past Treasurer)
• Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (Trustee)
• Rotary Club of Manila
• German Club

Awards and recognition

The following are some of the awards and recognition given to Lapus in the course of his private and government career:

• Triple A Award for outstanding achievements in the practice of Management (the highest AIM alumnus award) – given in 1980; was the youngest recipient (at 29 years old) of the award
• Elevated to the Hall of Fame as Outstanding Legislator for 5 consecutive years (2000-2004) – given by the Makati Graduate School and Congress Magazine
• Conferred the title Datu Bantugan V for invaluable service to Mindanao
• Outstanding Citizen of Pampanga and Tarlac
• Outstanding CPA in the Philippines
• Outstanding Legislator of the Consumers Union of the Philippines

Tan Yu

 

A naturalized Filipino of Chinese descent,   Born  on    1927 in Fujian, China and Died     5 March 2002 at the age of  74 in Houston, Texas,  United States

A philanthropist and businessman who founded the Asiaworld International Group  and established the KTTI Foundation. In 1997, Forbes estimated his net worth to be about $7 billion, ranking him as one of the 10 richest men in the world, and making him the wealthiest man in the Philippines. Some projects were affected by the 1997 Financial Crisis

Originally from Fujian province in China, Yu and his family moved to the Philippines at a young age. He began making a living in Camarines Norte through selling bread buns in the streets and doing some fishing. He graduated from University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City, and in 1997, received an honorary doctorate of science degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. By the age of 18, he had established a textile business, and had made his first million pesos.

During his lifetime, he planned to develop Fuga and Barit, two northernmost islands in the Philippines, into a resort in the Pacific for businessmen and tourists. Under the company Asiaworld, he possessed more land in the Philippines than the government, as well as possessing overseas assets in the form of property, Hotels and banks, totaling $12 billion, as estimated by CNN Asiaweek.

Tan Yu died of heart failure in Houston, Texas in 2002 at the age of 75. Jose de Venecia, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Philippines, commended his achievements as a great businessman and as a philanthropist, for providing jobs to a number of Philippine people. He was posthumously honored with the Dr. Jose P. Rizal Award for Excellence.