THE Silliman University’s Board of Trustees (BOT) has elected its new chair upon the resignation of Dr. Leonor Briones effective July 1.
Briones accepted the offer of President Rodrigo Duterte to be a part of his Cabinet as Department of Education secretary.
The new Silliman BOT chair is Ricardo Balbido Jr., whom the BOT elected recently, a media release from the SU Office of Information and Publications said over the weekend.
Balbido served as BOT member since 1999, representing the Silliman University Foundation Incorporated (SUFI) and his term will end on May 31, 2020.
Balbido obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, Major in Accounting in Silliman and his Master in Business Administration Full Academics from Ateneo de Manila University.
A certified public accountant, he also took a course on Advanced Bank Management Program at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).
A banker for most of his life, he started his career at the FNCB Finance Inc. as assistant branch manager in 1971 and by 1974 to BPI Leasing Corp as assistant manager/head of its Credit Department. He moved to the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) in 1980 as assistant vice president and became its senior vice president until 1995. From BPI, he became the executive vice president of Dao Heng Bank and eventually its president and COO until 2000. From 2001 until he retired in 2013, he was the president and CEO of the Philippine Veterans Bank.
As Secretary Briones’ position as representative of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) has been left vacant, the BOT also voted to appoint Trustee Epifania Anfone as a member and chair of the Search Committee for the next SU president in place of Briones.
Board Secretary Trustee Grace Sumalpong was also tasked to request the UCCP to nominate for the replacement of Briones and finish her unexpired term as member of the board.
The university's BOT is composed of representatives from three sectors: Silliman Alumni Association Inc., SUFI and UCCP. (PNA)