Today is the birthday of Jesus P. Estanislao—the foremost advocate of good corporate governance in our country. Jess, as his colleagues fondly call him, graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Carlos in his native Cebu with a degree in Philosophy. He earned his Master’s Degree in Economics at the Fordham University in New York and his Ph.D. in Economics at the Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he was also a Teaching Fellow and Research Fellow.
A scholar and a revered member of the academe, he was honored with several doctoral degrees from various leading institutions. A trained economist, he has published several books, which are regarded by experts as authority on the subject of economics, finance and governance. As early as 1997 while he was the President of the University of Asia and the Pacific, he delivered a lecture in Singapore where he described the Philippines as an emerging Asian tiger. He affirmed that the macroeconomic fundamentals of the country bear out the expectation that the Philippines is finally out of the woods. He cited the numbers that “those statistics that are supposed to come down—such as inflation—have come down; those that are supposed to go up—such as real GDP growth—have gone up; those that are supposed to stay generally where they are—such as the exchange rate— have remained surprisingly stable and strong; and those that are supposed to stay within bounds—such as the fiscal deficit and the current account deficit as a ratio of GDP—have stayed within conventional norms of prudence.”
He astutely observed at that time that the excellent economic performance was only recorded during the past five years when relative calm was restored after a series of disruptive coup attempts rocked our fragile democracy. Reflecting on the Edsa revolution, he assailed that “wrong policies, not just wrong personalities” had caused our economic ills for decades under the Marcos regime. And that we needed to purge the dictator and his cronies, even by way of radical political reforms, if only to rebuild and redirect our economy. The President Cory years addressed the political problems which required strengthening the democratic institutions. In the process, President Cory’s administration shed blood and tears but it weathered several attempts of the putschists and military adventurers to oust President Cory from office. The succeeding Ramos administration enjoyed peace and quiet and President Fidel V. Ramos was able to focus on the serious business of building our economy. Vital reforms were introduced to dismantle monopolies, discourage crony capitalism, and reject trade protectionism. Transparency, fair market competition and a culture of good corporate governance became the new paradigm.
Again, sounding prophetic, Jess worried that the gains made under the Cory and Ramos administrations would be imperiled if the people failed to elect their successors who will safeguard and pursue the democratic and governance reforms introduced by their predecessors.
During the critical years after President Cory was installed into power, Jess played prominent roles in the government. Initially, Jess joined President Cory as the Chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines, which he successfully rehabilitated. After completing his work at the DBP, he then served as the Socio-economic Planning Secretary and concurrently as Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority from 1989 to 1990. Later on, Jess was tapped by President Cory as Secretary of Finance from 1990-1992 when Secretary Vicente Jayme left the Cabinet. There was no question that as the finance chief, Jess was the head of President Cory’s economic team. He presided over the recovery efforts and reform program of the new government, severely reeling from the economic misrule of the preceding administration. It is not stretching the fact if I say that Jess helped lay the foundation for our economic recovery. And we are fortunate that an honest, pious and incorruptible man was at the helm of our economic and finance team during that crucial period in our history.
When President Cory’s term ended, President Ramos did not totally let him go. Jess was designated as the Philippine representative to the Apec Eminent Persons Group. When the Philippines hosted the Apec Summit in 1996, Jess served as its adviser. And again, when the Asean Eminent Persons Group on Vision 2020 was convened, Jess ably represented our country. For his distinguished services to our country, Jess was awarded the Philippine Legion of Honor, one of the highest decorations given to both civilians and members of the military established in 1947 by then President Manuel A. Roxas. In 2009, the Management Association of the Philippines conferred on him the “Management Man of the Year” for his superb management skills.
Now long retired from government service, Jess champions governance in the Philippines. His mission is to instill a governance culture in both public and private institutions to promote integrity, weed out corruption and promote governance reforms. To achieve these lofty objectives, he founded the Institute of Corporate Directors, which focuses on corporate governance and the Institute for Solidarity in Asia, which aims to develop national governance. As the acknowledged leader on governance issues, Jess is the chairman of the President’s Governance Advisory Council. No man is best suited for this role than Jess. He is a silent worker who delivers the goods. He abhors the “noise and blabber” of those who are full of pretensions but lack the substance and dedication to pursue the tasks.
Good governance is a difficult challenge confronting leaders in government and business. By itself, it is not the panacea for all our ills. Quoting Jess, he himself admitted that “governance does not provide the silver bullet by which we can hit and smash all the long term, systemic and closely related problems that we have been facing as a nation. But the discipline it imposes and the good practice it demands provide a roadmap that leads to the delivery of transformative outcomes, which address effectively and minimize the systemic problems that have been bugging us down.” But with Jess leading the initiative, I have little doubt that we can achieve the transformation that we dream of. Happy birthday, Jess.