Renowned economist launches final book of Philippine Governance trilogy

(As released) Renowned economist, author and the country's foremost authority on good governance, Dr. Jesus Estanislao, releases the final installment of his acclaimed Philippine Governance trilogy through an online book launch on July 30.

Similar to the two volumes that preceded it, his latest book, “Governance of the Philippines: As a Republic, 1946-2021”, sifts through the periods of Philippine history for valuable, guiding lessons on governance.

While the first book, “Governance in the Philippines: Spanish colonial rule (1565-1898)”, delved into the governance lessons during the Spanish colonial era and the second, Governance of the Philippine: The US colonial period (1898-1946), in the American colonial years, Estanislao now shifts his focus to the young Philippine Republic that first cried out its independence in 1946. 

“It has been 75 years since we became an independent Republic,” the founding director of governance reform institutes, Institute for Solidarity in Asia and Institute for Corporate Directors writes in the book’s introduction. “Now may well be a proper occasion to look back at what we have done, what lessons we can learn from our experience as a nation these past seven and a half decades, and how we might apply those lessons, moving forward, at least into the next 25 years.”

Estanislao served concurrently as the secretary of Finance and the secretary of Economic Planning during former President Corazon Aquino’s term. He is credited as the founding president of the University of Asia and the Pacific and founding dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo.

At present, he is the chairman of the Center for Excellence in Governance. He has been honored for his numerous accomplishments through awards such as MAP Management Man of the Year in 2010, the Outstanding Filipino Award in the field of good governance in 2012, the Hernando de Soto Award for Democracy in 2013, among others.

Writing alongside Estanislao are former National Security Adviser and National Security Council Director-General Jose Almonte, award-winning economist Vaughn “Bong” Montes, retired Brigadier General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Fermin de Leon Jr., former Department of Social Welfare and Development Undersecretary Linda Valenzona, People Power Volunteers for Reforms in CARAGA Regional Chairperson Concepcion “Chit” Asis, and Philippine Foreign Service Career Minister Juan Dayang Jr. 

The book born from these great minds distinguishes itself from the usual historical narratives of our country; it is not fixated on specific personalities nor is it rooted in particular specializations, rather, it takes on a systemic and strategic approach to tackle the governance of the Republic as a whole. This comprehensive analysis is channeled into lessons that light the way towards our Dream Philippines.

Moreover, this trilogy seeks to gather its readers into a Community of Governance Advocates (CGA), a league of active citizens committed to building our Dream Philippines 2040 under the guidance of our past governance experiences. A CGA Facebook Community will be officially launched in October, where Governance Advocates can continue engaging and collaborating with each other. 

Be part of this trailblazing community and take an active role in defining the future of our Philippines. Register for the book launch on July 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 noon on Zoom and Facebook Live and reserve a copy now via https://bit.ly/2021BookLaunch. You may also sign up to the CGA Facebook Community through https://bit.ly/CommunityOfGovernanceAdvocates.

For more details, contact Janine Medina at jmedina@isacenter.org or follow @isacenterph on Facebook and Instagram.