PEF welcomes new Board members to drive strategic vision forward

To further advance its vision of building self-sustaining and resilient households in partner communities, the Peace and Equity Foundation welcomed a new set of seasoned CSO leaders to its Board of Trustees on March 27, 2025. 

• Mr. Austere Panadero – Representing the national NGO networks/coalitions, Mr. Panadero is the president of the Zuellig Family Foundation.  As a former Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary, he will be bringing his expertise in navigating local government dynamics and leveraging resources for a shared agenda.

• Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio Pascual – Elected to represent the national NGO networks/coalitions, Fr. Pascual has been known for being an active supporter of the cooperative movement in the country. He is currently the executive director of Caritas Manila and chair of Simbayanan ni Maria Multi-Purpose Cooperative, a multipurpose cooperative that offers microfinance services. 

• Ms. Caroline Manguiat-Ubalde – Representing the Luzon NGO network/coalitions, Ms. Ubalde is the executive director of Lingap Para Sa Kalusugan Ng Sambayanan (LIKAS) in Irosin, Sorsogon and former executive director of Bicol Consortium for Development Initiatives. Her experience in social development and management will help PEF improve its programs and projects further. 

• Ms. Edith Villanueva – Returning to represent the Visayas NGO network/coalitions, Ms. Villanueva brings with her the institutional memory in her second stint on the PEF Board. Since 2002, she has been the president and chief operating officer of the Sugar Industry Foundation, Inc. and the current chair of the HOPE Volunteers Foundation Inc. She was also a former congresswoman in the third district of Negros Occidental. 

Together with the other Board members — Most Rev. Antonio Ledesma, Emmanuel De Dios, Martiniano Magdolot, Ma. Gisela Tiongson, and Eloize Juliet Victoriano — their collective expertise and perspectives will help steer the Foundation as it embarks on a new strategy while staying focused on its mission to deliver meaningful and lasting impact to poor and marginalized communities across the country.

PEF also extends its sincere gratitude to the outgoing Board members — Ms. Rory Tolentino,  Fr. Jovic Lobrigo, Ms. Gina Martin, and Mr. Allan Sicat — for their invaluable service and steadfast commitment to advancing the Foundation’s social development mission.