Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, swore in former National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon as Monetary Board member, the sixth in a seven-person board.
De Leon will serve a six-year term as member of the Monetary Board, BSP’s policy-making body.
To date, the Monetary Board includes Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno as ex-officio member; V. Bruce J. Tolentino; Anita Linda R. Aquino; and Romeo L. Bernardo, who took his oath of office on Sept. 15.
De Leon was Treasurer of the Philippines from November 2012 to January 2015, and then again from February 2017 to September 2023. “She (has) directed the country’s borrowing, investment, and capital market development policies” for nine years, said the BSP.
She also served as Finance Undersecretary of the International Finance Group and as Chief of Staff to former Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves during the Arroyo administration.
Meanwhile, De Leon at some point was also Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank Group in Washington, DC, which was from January 2015 to January 2017.
While at the World Bank, she covered the Philippines, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
She was also Advisor to the Executive Director at the Asian Development Bank.
De Leon earned her Master of Arts in Development Economics from Williams College, Massachusetts, USA. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of the Philippines.
Similar with Bernardo, de Leon is a first time Monetary Board member. She can be reappointed for a fresh term of six years.
The BSP’s Monetary Board is chaired by Remolona, himself once a member of the Monetary Board before his appointment in June 2023 as the country’s seventh BSP governor.
Malacanang has yet to appoint another Monetary Board member to complete the roster of seven.