Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) President Fr. Roberto C. Yap joins state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) as the newest member of its Board of Trustees.
He was sworn in by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority on March 20, 2023.
Fr. Yap is an economics professor and the incumbent ADMU president. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of ADMU, Ateneo de Davao University, and Ateneo de Zamboanga University. He is a former president of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, where he led the university’s post-Typhoon Sendong recovery and rehabilitation efforts and involvement in the Marawi City rehabilitation. Fr. Yap also held positions at the John J Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues, klima-Climate Change Center, and Institute on Church and Social Issues.
He obtained his doctorate in economics from the University College London. He holds three master’s degrees—one in public policy from Harvard University, one in economics from the New School for Social Research, and another in theology from the Loyola School of Theology. He has two bachelor’s degrees in theology (summa cum laude) and economics (cum laude).
The Cebu-born priest, educator, and economist has written articles on various topics such as poverty, agricultural development, environment and development economics, and disaster mitigation and management.
"I look forward to promoting the work of the premier research institute in the country, which is to provide independent evidence-based and theoretically informed research on the pressing socioeconomic issues facing our people, especially the poor and the marginalized," Fr. Yap said.
Fr. Yap will serve on the PIDS Board alongside Chairperson and Secretary Balisacan and fellow members PIDS President Aniceto Orbeta Jr., Agricultural Guarantee Fund Pool Governing Board Member Gilberto Llanto, and University of the Philippines System Vice President for Academic Affairs Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista.
View the oathtaking photos of Fr. Yap here. ###
