BIZ BUZZ: Ex-journo is new AG
Meanwhile, the BSP recently named a new assistant governor.
We’re talking about Maria Margarita Debuque-Gonzales, who now heads the central bank’s Research Academy, which was established in 2021 to help strengthen the analytical capacity and research presence of the BSP.
Gonzales took over the position last Dec. 18, a promotion from her previous role of principal researcher.
Recall that Governor Eli Remolona Jr., who had long encouraged Gonzales to apply even when he wasn’t BSP governor yet (but was already part of the Monetary Board), had described Gonzales as a “good writer” and a “good economist.”
Before joining the BSP, she was a senior research fellow at state-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
Gonzales is a homegrown talent from the University of the Philippines (UP), where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in psychology, master’s degree in economics and PhD in economics.
Monetary economics, financial economics, macroeconomics and development are her areas of research expertise.
Before joining PIDS, she was an associate professor at the UP School of Economics, where she helmed the financial and international economics committee and the UnionBank Center for Financial and Monetary Economics. She also previously worked at GlobalSource Partners, together with now Monetary Board member Romeo Bernardo.
Best of all, Gonzales started out as a business journalist. She used to write special reports and feature articles about the economy and financial markets for this paper, and has won for us a number of prestigious journalism awards.
