Tonisito M.C. Umali, Esq.

(Guest Speaker)

Some of USec. Tonisito Umali’s Credentials in his more than 20 years as a public servant:

• Passed the California State Bar Examinations on February 2004, took oath, and admitted to practice law and as member of the California State Bar on June 1, 2004;

• Admitted to practice federal law in the United States Federal Court Eastern, Southern and Central District of California;

• Admitted as member of the American Bar Association in 2004;

• Finished Bachelor of Science in Legal Management at the Ateneo de Manila University and completed Juris Doctor degree at the Ateneo Law School;

• Conferred a Doctorate Degree in Public Administration, Honoris Causa by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines on April 15, 2015;

• Featured by the Philippine Star as one of the most accomplished and notable Filipinos who best represent the state of the Filipino today;

• He is a former part time lecturer at the Graduate Program of the University of the Philippines, National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) and at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Master in Educational Management (MEM) and Doctor in Educational Management (DEM);

• Presently, he is the Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships and Project Management Service of the Department of Education.

Prof. Clarence M Batan, PhD

(Host/Moderator)

CLARENCE M. BATAN is Professor and Head of Department of Sociology, and former Research Director of the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education at the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines. He was President of the Philippine Sociological Society (2017-2018) and Vice President for Asia in the Research Committee on the Sociology of Youth (RC34) (2014-2018) of the International Sociological Association. His research interests are sociology of childhood and youth, sociology of work and employment, and qualitative and mixed methods. He obtained his AB in Sociology from UST; MA in Sociology from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Having completed his graduate studies in North America (including a PhD in Sociology at Dalhousie University in Canada and an international research fellowship at Brown University in USA) he has been challenged through his involvement in Global South youth studies project to center the works of Southeast Asian theorists and Filipino academics in his sociological research. He actively serves as policy consultant in the Department of Education, and the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippine Government. He continues his istambay research through the project, Pilipinong Kabataang Naghahabi ng Buhay (Filipino Youth Weaving Lives) and leads The National Catechetical Study commissioned by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in the Philippines which allows him to investigate more closely the present-day dynamics of the Sociology of Catholicism in the Philippines.

Commissioner Aldrin A. Darilag, PhD

(Guest Speaker)

Commissioner Aldrin Arenas Darilag serves the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) by progressively leading the advancement of a wide array of relevant and timely disciplines in higher education. This is exemplified through his work as the Oversight Commissioner for Teacher Education and Teacher Quality, Gender and Development, Extension Programs for State Universities and Colleges, and the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Tropical Biology (SEAMEO Biotrop); and as a Champion for Futures Thinking and Cultural Education.

Included in his notable achievements in the time of COVID19 pandemic are spearheading the Eastern Visayas Higher Education Institutions – Flexible Learning Management Systems Consortium in Region VIII, leading the Working on Resilience and Innovation for Teaching Excellence in Region XI, and organizing a region-wide flexible learning initiatives and consortium programs of the 170 higher education institutions of Region V in partnership with the Bicol Foundation for Higher Education.

Prior to his appointment as CHED Commissioner, Commissioner Darilag has served the higher education landscape in various capacities – as Director for Human Resource Management Services of De La Salle Philippines; as Head of the HR Commission of the Lasallian School Network; as Vice President for Academic Services at St. Paul University Surigao; as Dean of the Graduate School of St. Paul University Manila; as Vice President for Research, Planning, and Extension Services of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina; as Associate Professorial Lecturer at De La Salle University Manila-Br. Andrew Gonzales College of Education, as Adjunct Faculty of various Private Higher Education Institutions like Holy Angel University, Far Eastern University, University of Santo Tomas, and De La Salle-College of St. Benilde.

Commissioner Darilag finished his Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Management, has earned PhD units in Science Education, major in Biology, and finished his Master of Education, major in School Leadership at the De La Salle University – Manila. He also has a Master’s Degree in Medical Technology at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). He is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), a Registered Medical Technologist (RMT) and a Registered Nurse (RN).

On top of all these academic pursuits and behind all these noteworthy accomplishments, Commissioner Darilag maintains his primary role in life as a devoted family man and a loving husband to his wife, Maricel.

Engr. Rolando J. Paulino, Jr.

(Guest Speaker)

Fellow- Institute of Corporate Directors
Fellow- ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology
President – Philippine Energy Independence Council
Managing Director, Shell Philippines Exploration BV
Non-Executive Director, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.

Don (Rolando) has more than 25 years of international senior leadership experience in the Energy and have worked in various sites in United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia and Philippines. He led large production and manufacturing facilities including those that supply more than 25% of energy of a country needs with passion, integrity and care for people. His brand of leadership resulted to organizations that perform safely, profitably and continuously improve.

Don is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors and ASEAN Academy for Engineering and Technology, a trained Executive Coach, a part-time Faculty and is member of various boards including the Philippine Energy Independence Council, Petroleum Association of the Philippines, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Tabangao Reality Inc., Malampaya Foundation Inc and Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. On top of his role as Managing Director of SPEX, he is also the President of the Philippine Energy Independence Council, the Chairman and President of Tabangao Reality Inc and the President of the Petroleum Association of the Philippines.

Don is passionate in mobilizing people towards their life goals, in continuous improvement and that his success is about making others successful. His commitment to people’s development has been recognized and resulted to awards- 2017 Gawad Pio Valenzuela Award (City of Valenzuela and Pio Valenzuela Foundation), 2017 Outstanding Alumni ( University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Engineering) and 2020 Gold Stevie Award for Innovative Management in Energy.

Don has a degree in Mechanical Engineering (Cum Laude) from the University of Santo Tomas, a Master’s in Business Administration (Ateneo-Regis Program) from Ateneo de Manila University and been part of Shell’s Business Leadership Programme in INSEAD. When not working, he is busy with his personal projects on renewable energy & technology, photography, cycling and in coaching future leaders.

Jeffrey O. Tarayao

(Guest Speaker)

Jeff Tarayao has twenty years – experience in managing corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate foundations, community relations, sustainability strategy and reporting, and communications. He has extensive experience on developing strategies for creating shared value programs, corporate-community partnerships and sustainable development strategies. Jeff is the Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and concurrently, the President of One Meralco Foundation (OMF). Prior to Meralco, he worked in Globe Telecom as Head of Community Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Jeff served in the inaugural board of trustees of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy based in London, United Kingdom from 2016 to 2019. He also served as Chairman of the League of Corporate Foundations in the Philippines, President of the Coalition for Better Education, trustee of the International Association of Business Communicators Philippines and, trustee of Caritas Margins – the social enterprise program of the Archdiocese of Manila.

In Meralco, he led the transformation of the company’s corporate social responsibility program from a grant-driven to a more strategic approach by utilizing the company’s competencies in energy solutions, to address inclusion and sustainability issues. As President of OMF, he led the expansion of its community electrification program benefiting at least 56,000 low-income households in the Meralco franchise area in the past ten years. In 2012, he launched the Foundation’s School Electrification program which improved the learning experience in off-grid island and mountain public schools in the Philippines by providing them stand-alone solar power systems. This program which has energized 265 remote public schools benefiting 83,000 students (as of end July 2021) has been recognized as the best CSR program in the Platts Global Energy Award in 2013 in New York City, and received Gold awards in the International Business Awards in Toronto, Canada in 2015 and in Rome, Italy in 2016.

The programs he managed in the past 20 years have been awarded by numerous organizations here and abroad including the Management Association of the Philippines’ CSR Leadership Challenge, the Asian CSR Award, the Global CSR Awards, the International Gold Quill in New York, Corporate Governance Asia’s Best CSR Award (Hong Kong), Asian Corporate Excellence and Sustainability (Singapore), International Business Awards (Stevies) and the Platts Global Energy awards. In November 2019, One Meralco Foundation was also the recipient of the ASEAN Rural Development and Poverty Eradication Leadership award for its various poverty alleviation projects. Tarayao has also spoken on CSR, Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Jeff was chosen as one of Manila’s 40 under 40 International Development Leaders given by the Washington DCbased Development Exchange in 2012. The Asia-New Zealand Foundation also recognized him as one of Asia’s Young Business Leaders in 2014. In 2011, he was chosen as one of the Asia 21 Fellows of the Asia Society, a group of emerging leaders of Asia below 40. Tarayao obtained his Master of Sustainable Development degree from the Faculty of Science and Engineering of Macquarie University in Sydney in 2018 as an Australia Awards Scholar. He completed his undergraduate studies cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines with a degree in Communication Arts in 2001. He is also a lecturer on Corporate Social Responsibility and Good Governance in the College of Commerce and Business Administration of the University of Santo Tomas.