Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata (born 12 December 1930) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

former statesman and businessman who was the fourth

Prime Minister of the Philippines The prime minister of the Philippines was the official designation of the head of the government (whereas the president of the Philippines was the head of state) of the Philippines from 1978 until the People Power Revolution in 1986. During m ...

from 1981 to 1986. He is currently the corporate vice chairman of the

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) () is one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines with total consolidated resources of Php 959 billion. It was established in 1960 as a development bank and is licensed by the Bangko Se ...

. He is the eponym of the Cesar Virata School of Business, the business school of the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

Government service

Finance minister

He served as

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1970 to 1986 under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

Prime Minister of the Philippines

Virata served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from 1981 to 1986 under the

Interim Batasang Pambansa The Interim Batasang Pambansa (English: Interim National Assembly) was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body mandated by the 1973 ...

and the

Regular Batasang Pambansa The Regular Batasang Pambansa (English: Regular National Assembly), or the First Batasang Pambansa, was the meeting of the Batasang Pambansa from the beginning of its session on July 23, 1984 until it was abolished by President Corazon Aquino on ...

, concurrently with his position as Finance Minister. He also headed the

National Economic and Development Authority The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA; fil, Pambansang Pangasiwaan sa Kabuhayan at Pagpapaunlad) is an independent cabinet-level agency of the Philippine government responsible for economic development and planning. It is headed ...

(NEDA), the country's highest economic planning body, while also serving as the Prime Minister. Virata was the third to occupy the position and was succeeded by economist

Vicente Valdepeñas, Jr. Vicente is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Location *São Vicente, Cap ...

Cesar Virata and his wife Phylita at the funeral of Onofre Corpuz 2013jf

After the 1986 EDSA Revolution

He was replaced as Prime Minister in the aftermath of the 1986

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

Salvador Laurel Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel (, November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the vice president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino and ...

. Laurel succeeded Virata as Prime Minister on 25 February 1986, through the appointment of

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

, but the position was abolished a month later by Proclamation No. 3 (the 'Freedom Constitution'). The office was confirmed as superseded by the

1987 Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...

, which again fused the offices of the head of state and the head of government in the President.

Academe

Prior to assuming leadership positions in the government service during the Marcos administration, Virata used to teach at the business school of the

. He served as dean of the College of Business Administration, which was named after him on April 12, 2013 by the University of the Philippines Board of Regents (BOR) as the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business. Several interest groups, including U.P. Kilos Na, have protested this renaming of the business school, and the BOR decided to restudy its decision during its board meeting held last July 29, 2013. Some members in certain interest groups, including U.P. Kilos Na, the UP Diliman University Council, undergraduates of the UP College of Business, and in the BOR itself then objected to renaming the business school after Virata. The matter was discussed at length in a series of meetings which resulted in the BOR re-affirming its decision to rename the college after Virata.

Family and personal life

Virata is married to Phylita Joy Gamboa, a popular stage actress, and has three children: Steven Cesar, a businessman; Gillian Joyce, an educator; and Michael Dean, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases. The grandnephew of the first President,

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...

, Virata holds an MBA from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

. Virata is also an accomplished tennis player. His uncle, Leonides Sarao Virata, also served during under Marcos as Secretary of Trade and Industry and chairman of the

Development Bank of the Philippines The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is a state-owned development bank headquartered in Makati, Philippines. It was established after World War II in 1947 on the government's effort through its mandate to rebuild the country's war t ...

. As with most of his family, Virata is a member of the

Philippine Independent Church , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...

Biographies

Virata's life and his impact on Philippine economic history have been the subject of various books. The most of extensive biography to cover Virata as its main subject is Gerardo Sicat's 2014 biography, "Cesar Virata: Life and Times Through Four Decades of Philippine Economic History." He is also one of the main subjects of Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem's 2019 Ateneo Press book "Philippine Politics and the Marcos Technocrats: The Emergence and Evolution of a Power Elite."

Honors

Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(2016) *Most Distinguished Brother
Pan Xenia International Professional Foreign Trade Fraternity

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virata, Cesar 1930 births Living people Aguinaldo family Prime Ministers of the Philippines Filipino Protestants Members of the Philippine Independent Church Directors-General of the National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines Secretaries of Finance of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cavite People from Kawit, Cavite Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members Members of the Batasang Pambansa