Our Founder

Oscar M. Lopez

Mr. Lopez is the Chairman Emeritus of EDC. Prior to his election as Chairman Emeritus, he was the company‘s Chairman since its full privatization in 2007. He is also the Chairman Emeritus of both the Lopez Holdings Corporation (formerly Benpres Holdings Corporation), the holding company for major investments in broadcast, telecoms and cable, power generation and distribution, and road infrastructure; and First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPHC), the specific associate holding company for power generation and distribution. He has been elected as Chairman Emeritus of the different First Holdings group of companies and First Gen and First Gas group of companies.

Mr. Lopez is one of the most respected and admired business leaders in Asia. He was Management Association of the Philippines‘ Management Man of the Year in 2000 and one of the top 20 finalists for CNBC and TNT International‘s Asia Business Leader Awards in 2004. He was the first Filipino businessman to be awarded the most prestigious Officer‘s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2005. In 2006, he was honored in Monaco with the IMD-Lombard Odier Hentsch Distinguished Family Award for “an outstanding commitment on philanthropy for the family‘s achievement in excellence such as the clarity and sustainability of their social endeavors, exemplary corporate governance, a focus on family values, and the involvement of multiple generations”.? He is a recipient of The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award in the field of business for the year 2009. Named by Forbes Magazine as among the “Heroes of Philanthropy”? in Asia, he is involved in several social and environmental concerns, among them the Eugenio Lopez Foundation and Lopez Group Foundation. He has been conferred the Honorary Degree of Humanities, honoris causa by De La Salle University in Oct. 2010 and by the Ateneo de Manila University in Nov. 2010. He was the 2011 Ramon del Rosario, Sr. Awardee for Nation Building.

Mr. Lopez has a master‘s degree in public administration from the Littauer School of Public Administration in Harvard University (1955), where he also earned his bachelor of arts degree, cum laude (1951).

Our Team

Rodel D. Lasco, PhD

SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR

Dr. Rodel Lasco is a pioneering and multi-awarded scientist with more than 35 years of experience at the national and international level. The author of over 80 technical publications, his work focuses primarily on natural resources conservation, climate change, and land degradation. He is an author of several reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the 2007 co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology in the Philippines. He also serves as the Philippines Coordinator of the World Agroforestry Centre and as an affiliate professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Marianne G. Quebral

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Mayan Quebral came on board in 2015 with several years of fundraising experience and a strong, diverse network. She has served as a trustee of several institutions, including the Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation. Today she remains a trustee of Children’s Hour, Let’s Save the Brain Foundation, and Venture for Fund Raising, of which she is a co-founder. Prior to this appointment, she served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement of the Asian Institute of Management, which raised over 340 million pesos in over two years under her leadership, and as the Philippines Resource Development Officer of UNICEF, where she raised over 85 million pesos in under four years by developing the largest non-profit direct mail campaign in the Philippines.

Perpilili Tiongson

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Prior to joining the Oscar M. Lopez Center, Perpi has worked on various advocacies primarily through research, communications, relationship management, business development, and fundraising.  She brings this interdisciplinary experience to the Center as she works with our scientists and researchers to translate our findings to promote climate-resilient action and solutions.  She is currently finishing her doctorate in Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines, concentrating on the areas of anthropology, language, education and development.

Rochelle Bata

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Recognizing the immense potential of the private and development sectors in contributing to nation building, Rochelle joined the Oscar M. Lopez Center in her pursuit to serve nature and the Filipino people. Her work on climate change started when she studied farmer’s constructs of climate change for her undergraduate thesis at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, where she finished with a degree in Development Communication, major in Science Communication. Before joining us, she was the Assistant Manager for Sales and Marketing of a branding company in Bangkok, Thailand.

Rafaela Jane Delfino

SCIENTIST | KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION MANAGER

Jane works on understanding our climate and how humans and ecosystems can become more resilient in the face of changing risks and uncertainties. Her passion for science is fuelled by almost 10 years of handling climate change studies, first with the World Agroforestry Centre from 2007 to 2013, and then with the Oscar M. Lopez Center. She was a student fellow at the United Nations University in Tokyo, holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science, and bachelor’s degree in Forestry from the University of the Philippines in Los Banos. She has also authored and co-authored several publications on climate science, mainstreaming climate change into development, and ecosystem-based adaptation.

Arianna Lim

BRANDING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Arianna brings with her the experience she’s acquired while hopscotching between the publishing industry and the development sector. She’s written for CNN Philippines, Rogue magazine, corporate publications, TV scripts, and, for a time, DSWD’s Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster.  Arianna is a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Communications, a minor in Sociology, and credits from the Development Studies program. Though she doesn’t have a background in science, her work stems from the belief that effective communication is the gatekeeper of any and all social and environmental development.

Perlyn Pulhin

RESEARCH CURATION AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Perlyn has been with the Oscar M. Lopez Center since its establishment in 2012, bringing along work experience in the areas of environmental research, science-policy initiatives, knowledge management, and communications and development. Prior to this, she worked as Programme Officer at the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research, an international organization based in Japan promoting global change research. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science with research interests in the fields of climate change, disaster risk management, resilience, and loss and damage. She has also co-authored a number of scholarly publications and presented papers and posters in many local and international scientific fora.

Alice de Sagun

GRANTS MANAGER

Alice currently oversees the grants management program. Her career in public affairs advocacy spans the sectors of government, private, and development. She has been involved in a number of advocacy programs, including sustainable and renewable energy, clean air, poverty housing, and migration and development. Alice occupied technical and supervisory positions  while she was with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Center for Clean and Renewable Energy Development, Habitat for Humanity, Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation, EON, the Stakeholders Relations Group, the Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.  Immediately prior to her work here, she served as Institutional Funding Manager at AIM.

Manna Vargas

PROJECT MANAGER

Manna joined the Oscar M. Lopez Center fresh from completing her Master’s degree  in International Relations and her Bachelor’s degree in Environment and Development from the University of New South Wales, Australia. After an internship with Australian-based NGO Jubilee Australia further exposed her to the harsh intersections of environmental and social justice issues, Manna found her way back to the Philippines to pursue a career in climate change research in all its forms.

Kendrick Co

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Ken joined us in 2015 following his graduation from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Environmental Science and a minor in Economics. He is currently engaged in various projects for the Oscar M. Lopez Center, and in partnership with PAGASA, with particular focus on researching the past, present, and possible future weather and climate of the Philippines.

Krizzia Cruz

GRANTS ASSOCIATE

Krizzia has three years of experience in marketing and sales, as well as a degree in biology with a major in microbiology from Miriam College. Ultimately, it was her passion for science and the environment that brought her to the Oscar M. Lopez Center. Prior to working in the development sector, she was a member of AIESEC Philippines and a volunteer to various relief good operations for calamities.

Ana Gabriel

RESEARCH CURATION AND DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Ana has dipped her feet in many of our research initiatives, including climate change and agroforestry in the Philippines, as well as loss and damage linked with climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. For the latter, she had the opportunity to showcase the findings at various international and national scientific meetings. She now serves as a member of the Climate, Disaster and Development Journal editorial team. When she isn’t in the office, she works toward earning her Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Ateneo de Manila University. Her undergraduate thesis for the same field focused on phytoremediation using mangroves, and was published in a scientific journal and presented in various local and international conferences.

May Fer Tupaz

FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

May Fer is a triple major graduate of Accountancy, Management, and Management Accounting. Her first job was as the financial auditor for a manufacturing company, followed by eight years at an international non-governmental organization where her functions covered training, human resources, and audit and monitoring. She also served as Officer-in-Charge for a programme of 109 children and youth beneficiaries and 25 employees managing the day-to-day administrative and financial concerns of the programme, as well as supporting the employees in their varied needs.

Our Board

Oscar M. Lopez

CHAIRMAN EMERITUS

Federico R. Lopez

CHAIRMAN

Elpidio Ibanez

VICE CHAIRMAN

Richard B. Tantoco

PRESIDENT

Arthur de Guia

BOARD MEMBER

Edwin Coseteng

BOARD MEMBER

Francis Giles Puno

BOARD MEMBER

Eugenio Lopez III

BOARD MEMBER

Jonathan Russell

BOARD MEMBER

Nestor Padilla

BOARD MEMBER

Our Officers

Oscar M. Lopez

CHAIRMAN EMERITUS

Federico R. Lopez

CHAIRMAN

Elpidio Ibanez

VICE-CHAIRMAN

Richard B. Tantoco

PRESIDENT

Emmanuel P. Singson

TREASURER

Emelita D. Sabella

ASSISTANT TREASURER

Nestor H. Vasay

COMPTROLLER

Atty. Maria Jasmine Medina-Almogino

CORPORATE SECRETARY

Atty. Princessita M. Yulde

ASSISTANT CORPORATE SECRETARY