FIRST STEPS MATTER: Empowering Early Years Workers to Build Human Capital in the Philippines

Zafer Mustafaoğlu leads the country programs in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam. He has a wealth of experience in economic policy and development, with leadership roles within the Bank in Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific. Before joining the Bank, Zafer held senior government positions for economic planning and analysis in Türkiye.

Secretary Sonny Angara, appointed in July 2024 to lead the Department of Education, is a former Senator and House member. In Congress, he authored and sponsored over 300 measures, including the K to 12 program, kindergarten accessible to all, free college tuition, targeted student financial assistance, and policies supporting teachers and alternative learning pathways.

Jaffar Al-Rikabi is the Senior Country Economist for the Philippines based in Manila. At the World Bank, he previously served as a Senior Economist in the Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth global team in Washington DC and as a Country Economist for Indonesia, based in Jakarta. Jaffar Al-Rikabi has degrees from Oxford, Georgetown, and Harvard universities, and his previous experience includes work in academia, in the private sector, and for the United Nations. 

Gonzalo Varela is the Lead Economist and Program Leader of the Prosperity Unit for the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, based in Manila. He specializes in growth, trade, and open macro, with more than fifteen years of experience in policy advisory, policymaking, operations, and research. He has worked in a vast number of countries, across all regions, and income levels mainly on issues related to economic performance, trade and investment policy and macro-trade linkages, and impact evaluations of public policies. 

Kevin Cruz currently leads the macroeconomic monitoring program of the World Bank in the Philippines and is working on fiscal policy issues for the country. Prior to joining the Bank, Kevin worked in various research institutes in the University of the Philippines Diliman.  He is a PhD candidate in Economics from the same university, where he also received his MA Economics degree in 2011.

David Llorito is the External Affairs Officer of the World Bank Office in Manila. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was an urban and regional planner as well as a journalist who extensively covered economic and environmental policy issues for Manila-based and international media organizations.

Tara Béteille is currently the World Bank’s Lead Economist and Program Leader for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, based in Manila. Tara served as the Global Lead for the World Bank’s Teachers Thematic Group from 2017 till 2021. Her areas of operational expertise include early childhood education, teacher labor markets, skills, higher education and the political economy of education, having led projects in multiple regions in the world, including South Asia and East Asia and Pacific.

Mayor Trina Firmalo-Fabic is the Municipal Mayor of Odiongan, Romblon, (since 2016, currently in her second term). Odiongan is a coastal municipality, 180 kilometers by air from Manila. Mayor Trina served as Chief of Staff for the Provincial Government of Romblon and Political Affairs Officer for Romblon in the House of Representatives. Mayor Trina received honors such as the Obama Asia-Pacific Leader (2023) and was a participant in the Swedish Women’s Political Leadership Programme (2023-2024).

Professor Nieves Confesor is a member of the Standing Committee on Governance and Finance of the Education Commission 2. She teaches labor relations and public policy in the Asian Institute of Management and the Development Academy of the Philippines. She served as Secretary of Labor and Employment from 1991 to 1995.

Mr. Behzad Noubary joined UNICEF Philippines as Deputy Representative, Programmes in November 2020. Previously he served as UNICEF Deputy Representative in Morocco. Behzad joined UNICEF in 2008, with assignments in New York, Gabon, DR Congo, and Yemen. In the Philippines, UNICEF works with the government and partners including the World Bank to improve national policies, programs, and services for Filipino children and adolescents in the areas of education, health, nutrition and social protection. 

Aileen Leycano is the Executive Director of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP). ULAP is the umbrella organization of all leagues of local government units or LGUs.

Dr. Anna Melissa Guerrero MPH (HTA) joined the World Bank in December 2022 as a Health Specialist at the Philippine Country Office to work on engagements in nutrition, universal health coverage and pandemic preparedness and response. Prior to joining the Bank, Dr Guerrero worked at the Department of Health as Director of the Pharmaceutical Division and the Health Technology Assessment Division where she led reforms on pharmaceutical access, pricing and rational use policies since 2011.