Co-Sponsorship Speech: Confirmation of the Ad-Interim Appointment of Alfredo Pascual

Co-Sponsorship Speech
Confirmation of the Ad-Interim Appointment of Alfredo Pascual
as Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry
Session Hall, Senate of the Philippines
31 January 2023

Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Commission on Appointments,

I have the honor and privilege of supporting the confirmation of the ad interim appointment of Alfredo Espinosa Pascual as Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Mr. Alfredo Pascual is one of the country’s finest minds. He has refined systems and society with his work as an academic leader, management educator, good governance advocate, and international development banker.

He has served reputable institutions: as a finance professor at the Asian Institute and Management (AIM) from 1980 to 1989; led key positions in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 1989 to 2008; serving as the University of the Philippines (UP) System’s Alumni Regent in 2009 and 2010; subsequently elected as the UP President and Co-Chair from 2011 to 2017, and thereafter held the post of the President and CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) in 2018 and 2019.

Mr. Pascual also took the helm of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) until he was appointed Secretary of the DTI in June 2022.

The authority and responsibilities involved in carrying out the DTI mandate are no easy tasks. The job requires strong and decisive leadership that can spur enhanced trade systems and policies while hurdling the challenges inflicted by the unprecedented global health crisis, impaired international trade brought about by the Russia-Ukraine war, and disrupted global supply chains, among others.

As we recover from the pandemic, trade is central to our development agenda. Robust trade creates jobs, promotes entrepreneurship, attracts capital and foreign earnings, and fosters innovative processes. These are vital for sustainable development and reducing poverty and for supporting the country’s local industry and foreign trade growth.

Mr. Chairman, I am confident that the kind of leadership that Mr. Alfredo Pascual possesses is what we need to address the overwhelming challenges our trade and industry face today.

Nourished by his expertise and wealth of experience relevant to the mandate of the DTI, Mr. Alfredo Pascual’s fitness for the position is irrefutable.

If I may, it was during his presidency at the University of the Philippines that I was hailed as UP’s 2013 Distinguished Alumna for Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation, which award was conferred by him and the UP Alumni Association.

Mr. Chairman, it is thus my honor to join the sponsor in moving for the confirmation of the ad-interim appointment of Alfredo Espinosa Pascual as Secretary of Trade and Industry.

I so move, Mr. Chair.