Cesar Virata
Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata KGCR (born 12 December 1930)[1] is a Filipino former statesman and businessman who was the fourth Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. He is currently the corporate vice chairman of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.[2] He is the eponym of the Cesar Virata School of Business, the business school of the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Cesar E.A. Virata | |
|---|---|
Virata in September 2019 | |
| 4th Prime Minister of the Philippines | |
| In office July 28, 1981 – February 25, 1986 Acting: June 30, 1981 – July 28, 1981 | |
| President | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Deputy | José Roño |
| Preceded by | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Succeeded by | Salvador Laurel |
| 3rd Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority Concurrently Minister of Economic Planning | |
| In office 1983–1984 | |
| Preceded by | Placido Mapa, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Vicente Valdepeñas, Jr. |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office February 9, 1970 – March 3, 1986 | |
| Preceded by | Eduardo Romualdez |
| Succeeded by | Jaime Ongpin |
| Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Cavite | |
| In office June 30, 1984 – March 25, 1986 Served with: Helena Z. Benitez Renato P. Dragon | |
| Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Region IV | |
| In office June 12, 1978 – June 5, 1984 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata December 12, 1930 Kawit, Cavite, Philippine Islands |
| Political party | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1978–1986) Independent (1986–present) |
| Spouse | Phylita Joy Gamboa |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of the Philippines University of Pennsylvania (MBA) |
Government service
Finance minister
He served as Finance Minister from 1970 to 1986 under President Ferdinand Marcos.
Prime Minister of the Philippines
Virata served as Prime Minister of the Philippines[3] from 1981 to 1986 under the Interim Batasang Pambansa and the Regular Batasang Pambansa, concurrently with his position as Finance Minister. He also headed the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the country's highest economic planning body, while also serving as the Prime Minister. Virata was the third to occupy the position and was succeeded by economist Vicente Valdepeñas, Jr.
After the 1986 EDSA Revolution
He was replaced as Prime Minister in the aftermath of the 1986 People Power Revolution by Salvador Laurel. Laurel succeeded Virata as Prime Minister on 25 February 1986, through the appointment of Corazon Aquino, but the position was abolished a month later by Proclamation No. 3 (the 'Freedom Constitution'). The office was confirmed as superseded by the 1987 Constitution, which again fused the offices of the head of state and the head of government in the President.
Academe
Prior to assuming leadership positions in the government service during the Marcos administration, Virata used to teach at the business school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. He served as dean of the College of Business Administration, which was named after him on April 12, 2013 by the University of the Philippines Board of Regents (BOR) as the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business. Several interest groups, including U.P. Kilos Na, have protested this renaming of the business school, and the BOR decided to restudy its decision during its board meeting held last July 29, 2013. Some members in certain interest groups, including U.P. Kilos Na, the UP Diliman University Council, undergraduates of the UP College of Business, and in the BOR itself then objected to renaming the business school after Virata. The matter was discussed at length in a series of meetings which resulted in the BOR re-affirming its decision to rename the college after Virata.[4]
Family and personal life
Virata is married to Phylita Joy Gamboa, a popular stage actress, and has three children: Steven Cesar, a businessman; Gillian Joyce, an educator; and Michael Dean, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases. The grandnephew of the first President, Emilio Aguinaldo, Virata holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Virata is also an accomplished tennis player. His uncle, Leonides Sarao Virata, also served during under Marcos as Secretary of Trade and Industry and chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines. As with most of his family, Virata is a member of the Philippine Independent Church.[5]
Biographies
Virata's life and his impact on Philippine economic history have been the subject of various books. The most of extensive biography to cover Virata as its main subject is Gerardo Sicat's 2014 biography, "Cesar Virata: Life and Times Through Four Decades of Philippine Economic History."[6] He is also one of the main subjects of Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem's 2019 Ateneo Press book "Philippine Politics and the Marcos Technocrats: The Emergence and Evolution of a Power Elite."[7]
Honors
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2016)[8]
- Most Distinguished Brother, Pan Xenia International Professional Foreign Trade Fraternity
See also
- Prime Minister of the Philippines
- National Economic and Development Authority (Prime Minister was also the head of the NEDA)
- Gerardo P. Sicat, 2014. Cesar Virata Life and Times Through Four Decades of Philippine Economic History, Diliman, Quezon City: The University of Philippines Press, ISBN 978-971-542-742-5.
References
- ^ Profile of Cesar Virata
- ^ Tupas, Emmanuel. "Año, Bongbong, Virata test positive". PhilStar.com. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
- ^ "Aquino Abolishes Assembly, Declares Interim Government". Milwaukee Journal. AP. 25 March 1986. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Hidalgo, Cristina Pantoja (2016). The UP Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business: A Century of Business Education in the Philippines (First ed.). Diliman, Quezon City: UP Business Research Foundation, Inc. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-621-95585-0-1.
- ^ Wilson Lee Flores (22 May 2016). "Is a socialist 'ghost' to be feared?". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ Sicat, Gerardo P. (2014). Cesar Virata : life and times through four decades of Philippine economic history. Diliman, Quezon City. ISBN 978-971-542-741-8. OCLC 885027140.
- ^ Tadem, Teresa S. Encarnacion (2019). Philippine politics and the Marcos technocrats : the emergence and evolution of a power elite. Quezon City, Philippines. ISBN 978-971-550-913-8. OCLC 1120784698.
- ^ Kristine Angeli Sabillo (25 November 2016). "Marcos admin PM Virata receives award from Japanese gov't". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 25 November 2016.