The forum has traditionally attracted high-profile speakers, with the first three runs featuring the likes of Vicente Valdepeñas, a member of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Lilia Bautista, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; Dr. Ernesto Pernia, former lead economist of the Asian Development Bank, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves and Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.
For this year’s run, the SEF will have for its theme “Cebu Tourism: Moving Forward.”
The speakers will include Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano, SM Investments Corp. director Gregory Domingo and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) 7 Director Marlene Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is slated to present a staple at the SEF, the unbundling of the country’s macroeconomic figures to make them more relevant to investors interested in Cebu alone.
Her talk, “Examining Cebu’s contribution to the national economy,” will show the performance of Cebu vis-à-vis that of the Philippine economy.
Prior to clinching her post at Neda 7, Rodriguez was director of Neda 5 for 10 years. She has received recognition for her work at the Neda from civic groups and government institutions, including the award for Outstanding Regional Director.
Rodriguez, an agricultural economist, earned her bachelor’s degree in agriculture, major in agricultural economics, in UP College of Agriculture. She completed her master’s degree in social sciences, major in rural development planning at the Institute of Social Studies in The Netherlands. (PR)
