By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter
FORMER Prime Minister and Finance Minister Cesar E.A. Virata helped set a standard for technocratic governance in the Philippines built on competence, fiscal discipline and integrity, economists and business leaders said.
Mr. Virata, who passed away on Oct. 2 at age 95, was the country’s longest-serving Finance chief, holding the post from 1970 to 1986 under the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. He also served as prime minister (PM) from 1981 to 1986.
For Romeo L. Bernardo, a member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Monetary Board who began his government career as a staff member of then Finance Secretary Virata, his former boss showed how professionalism could endure even during periods of severe economic and political turmoil.
“PM Virata brought competence, discipline, and integrity to economic policymaking at a time when the country faced repeated economic and political crises,” Mr. Bernardo said in an e-mail.
“More importantly, he demonstrated that professionalism and public service could flourish even under the most difficult circumstances,” he added.
Mr. Bernardo said Mr. Virata, who came into government from the academe and private sector, treated public service as a responsibility rather than a platform for personal ambition.
“Whether in fiscal management, development planning, investment promotion, or international economic relations, he was guided by evidence, careful analysis, and a clear sense of national interest,” he added.
Mr. Bernardo said one of Mr. Virata’s most lasting contributions was helping establish the importance of credibility in Philippine economic policymaking.
“During periods of severe economic stress, he earned the trust of international institutions, investors, and economic partners by combining technical competence with personal integrity,” he said.
“The emphasis we place today on macroeconomic stability, fiscal prudence, and institutional credibility owes much to the tradition of technocratic governance that he helped build and sustain,” he added.
For Mr. Bernardo, Mr. Virata’s influence also extended beyond specific policies to generations of economists and public servants who followed him.
“In remarks I delivered on his birthday some years ago, I described him as the ‘gold standard’ against which many of us continue to measure ourselves,” he said. “I believe that remains true today.”
Federation of Philippine Industries Chair Elizabeth H. Lee said Mr. Virata’s legacy also lay in strengthening the role of professional economic management in government.
“His lasting influence on Philippine economic policy includes helping establish the standard that key economic institutions, such as the Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority, and the BSP, are best led by experienced economic professionals versus political appointees,” she said in a Viber message.
Ms. Lee also credited Mr. Virata with helping strengthen the foundations of tax administration, public finance, fiscal accounting and responsible public borrowing.
“He was an economic reformer and a crisis manager at a time when our country was shaken to the core,” Ms. Lee said. “The challenges may have changed, but the lesson remains the same: nations move forward when leaders put country above self, institutions above politics, and long-term progress above short-term gain.”
A COMPLICATED PERIOD
Mr. Virata’s record, however, is inseparable from the Marcos administration, including the economic crisis that marked its final years.
Diwa C. Guinigundo, former deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said any assessment of Mr. Virata should recognize both his qualities as a technocrat and the political system in which he operated.
“His record, of course, belongs to a complicated and deeply contested period in our history, and it should not be separated from that context,” he said in a Viber message.
“Virata served during the Marcos years, including some of the most difficult episodes of the Philippine economy. Scholars have rightly examined both the contributions and the limitations of the technocracy of that period,” he added.
Still, Mr. Guinigundo said Mr. Virata’s reputation for professionalism, integrity and respect for institutions endured among those who worked with him.
He said Mr. Virata believed in the importance of getting the economics right: of looking at the numbers, understanding the constraints, thinking long term, and building institutions that could outlast the people who happened to occupy government positions.
“What struck me most about PM Virata was that the greater his accomplishments, the less he seemed to need recognition for them,” Mr. Guinigundo said.
“He did not carry himself like someone who believed that high office made him important. Rather, he behaved like someone who believed that the office was important and that he had been entrusted with it temporarily.”
That humility was particularly important for someone wielding the influence of a technocrat, he said.
“A technocrat should have the confidence of expertise without the arrogance of power,” Mr. Guinigundo said.
Mr. Virata, he added, understood that economic policymaking ultimately involved serving people and institutions rather than displaying the intelligence or authority of the policymaker.
His legacy therefore might not rest on a single economic policy, but on the example he set for public servants, Mr. Guinigundo said.
“He could disagree without being disagreeable; he could exercise authority without humiliating people; and he could carry enormous responsibility without constantly placing himself at the center of the story.”
BEYOND GOVERNMENT
Mr. Virata’s influence stretched beyond government into academe and the private sector.
Before joining the government, he served as the fifth dean of the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration from 1960 to 1967, where he sought to build a business school that could play a vital role in the country’s economic development, the UP Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business (UP VSB) said.
During his term, he prioritized the training of future industry leaders and academics and helped institutionalize programs that enabled faculty members to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees at leading universities abroad.
He also helped establish mechanisms that continue to support teaching, research, scholarships, and faculty and student development, UP VSB said.
The college was renamed the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business in his honor in 2013.
Mr. Virata also served as the corporate vice chairperson of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) for 26 years, and has been on its board since 1995.
He was also part of the board of directors of BusinessWorld Publishing Corp.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said Mr. Virata’s work in fiscal management and capital market development had left an enduring impact on the country and the business community.
Beyond government, he also mentored generations of business leaders and remained closely involved with the private sector, supporting efforts to strengthen the growth and competitiveness of Philippine enterprises.
“The PCCI extends its heartfelt sympathies to the Virata family. We thank Minister Virata for his contributions to the business community and in serving the country with integrity and passion,” PCCI President Ferdinand A. Ferrer said in a statement over the weekend.
American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe, who described Mr. Virata as a good friend, said the country had lost a “great patriot.”
“I think all of the Philippines should be in a state of mourning about the passing of such a great patriot,” he said in a Viber message. “I will miss his guidance and wisdom.”
For Mr. Bernardo, Mr. Virata’s career ultimately showed that the quality of economic policy cannot be separated from the people and institutions behind it.
“Nation-building ultimately depends not only on sound policies, but also on the character of those entrusted to design and implement them,” he said.
“His career is a reminder that expertise matters, integrity matters, humility matters, and that quiet, steadfast dedication to country can leave a lasting imprint on national institutions long after one leaves office.”