Governance
The governing body of CFSI is the Board of Trustees. It has fifteen seats, filled during annual elections held every November. Board Members serve in a completely voluntary capacity, meet five times a year, undertake field visits to communities served by CFSI at their own expense, and are, at present, based in four continents—Asia, Australia, North America, and Europe. The following are the Members of the Board for 2026.
Narcisa “Ching” Escaler, Chairperson
Ambassador Narcisa Escaler is the current Chairperson of CFSI. Born in Manila, Philippines, she earned a degree in Literary Studies at Maryknoll College. A political activist, she held top management posts in both the corporate world and a private foundation until 1986, when she was appointed by President Corazon C. Aquino as Appointments and Social Secretary for the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
In 1989, President Aquino appointed Ms. Escaler as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland. She remained in this capacity until 1992, when newly elected President Fidel V. Ramos appointed her as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York.
In 1994, Amb. Escaler was elected by 53 governments as Deputy Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva with a five-year mandate. She was also, for several years, a Member of the Board and Vice-Chairperson of the Geneva-based Henri Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
Amb. Escaler returned to the Philippines in 2000 where she now serves as Chairperson, President, or Member of the boards of several corporations and foundations. She continues to be an advocate for women, democracy, and principled humanitarian action.
Amb. Escaler joined the Board of CFSI in 2006 and has served in a variety of capacities, including Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary. She was elected as Chairperson in November 2025 and serves, concurrently, as Chairperson of the Executive Committee.
Peter Gibson, Vice-Chairperson
Peter Gibson was elected to the CFSI Board of Trustees in September 2012. He earned his accountancy certification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and received his BSc degree in General Engineering from Durham University.
A British citizen and chartered accountant, Mr. Gibson has lived and worked in the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Nigeria, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. He began his professional career with the global auditing firm Ernst & Young.
In 2014, Mr. Gibson retired from Shell, where he served in multiple senior finance roles for 33 years. He is now based in Manila, contributing to the efforts of various foundations and civil society organizations.
Prior to joining the Board, Peter, an avid athlete, helped raise funds for CFSI through a major swimming event in the Dardanelles (the Hellespont). Subsequently, he completed a swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco.
Peter has served, at different points in time, as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Board of CFSI. In November 2025, Mr. Gibson was re-elected as Vice-Chairperson. He also serves as Chairperson of the Audit and Finance Committee.
Renmin Villanueva, Treasurer
Renmin “Ren” Villanueva is a well-regarded project manager with experience in both local and international engagements. He has specialized in fintech, digital content production for marketing and eLearning, and the development, deployment, and operations of complex digital systems and platforms, including billing systems, banking integrations, enterprise websites, and eLearning systems. His career spans both managerial and technical roles.
Mr. Villanueva served for six years as General Manager and Project Manager at Spinweb Productions, supporting organizations such as World Vision, as well as enterprises including online news services, in the rollout and management of digital and fintech platforms. His work with World Vision included supporting sponsorship and fundraising programmes across the Philippines, France, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Finland, and Norway.
A graduate of the University of the Philippines with a degree in Food Technology, Ren first engaged with CFSI in 1995 as Executive Assistant in the Office of the Executive Director, where he served for nearly five years. He also supported the Executive Director and the Director for Development, represented CFSI in the HIV/AIDS Network, and contributed to policy papers and practitioner handbooks for the juvenile justice sector. He later pursued a career in information technology.
Ren became a Member of CFSI Board of Trustees in 2015, offering to help with information technology and expressing a particular interest in the organization’s work in sexual and reproductive health rights and services. As a person living with HIV since 2013, he calls for expanded access to contextualized information, education, communications, and services for disadvantaged and vulnerable youth, and recognizes the value of collaboration in achieving sustainable impact.
In November 2025, Ren was re-elected as a Member of the Board and Treasurer of CFSI.
Jaime “Jimmy” Galvez Tan, Secretary
Dr. Galvez Tan is a former Secretary of Health for the Philippine Government. He served as Undersecretary and Chief of Staff of the Department of Health from 1992 to 1994. Prior to that time, he held senior positions at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), both at the national and the regional levels. Earlier, Dr. Galvez Tan served as a rural health physician and trainer.
Dr. Galvez Tan, popularly known as “Doc Jimmy”, has been a consultant for UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), The World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). A globally-recognized expert on traditional medicine, Dr. Galvez Tan is widely published and has lectured in fifteen countries on several continents.
The recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Tan is currently an International Consultant on Health Policy Development. He is a former Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of the Philippines Manila and, concurrently, Executive Director of the National Institutes of Health. At present, he is President and/or Chief Executive Officer of several nonprofits, including health-related nongovernmental organizations, such as the Health Futures Foundation.
Dr. Galvez Tan earned his medical degree at the University of the Philippines in Manila and the master of public health degree at the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. He is a Philippine citizen and popular radio host.
Since joining the Board of CFSI in 1999, Dr. Galvez Tan has served as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Public Relations Officer. He was re-elected to the Board in November 2025 and then elected as Secretary.
Beverly Lorraine Ho, Public Relations Officer
Dr. Ho, a citizen of the Philippines, was first elected to the Board in March 2024 and, in November 2025, as Public Relations Officer and Chairperson of the Resource Development Committee.
From April 2016 through January 2024, Dr. Ho served with the Philippine Department of Health (DOH), beginning as Chief of the Research Division of the Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau, and rising through the ranks to become Assistant Secretary of Health, Public Health Services Team. She is widely recognized throughout the Philippines, in part because she served, concurrently, as Deputy Spokesperson for the DOH from March 2020 through December 2023, the most challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since July 2024, she has served as Chief Health Officer for privately-held Ayala Health Care Holdings, Inc.
Prior to joining the DOH, Dr. Ho was a consultant and researcher on a variety of issues related to achieving health equity at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, and various health-related organizations in the Philippines. In addition, she served on the faculty of Ateneo de Manila University and also provided training to community-based health care workers.
During her university days, Dr. Ho won both academic and leadership awards at the University of the Philippines, School of Medicine, from which she graduated in 2009. She was a Fulbright and Ayala Stewardship Scholar when she attended Harvard University. Subsequently, Dr. Ho has thus far won global and regional fellowship awards from Yale University, the Atlantic Institute and Rhodes Trust at Oxford University, China Medical Board and Atlantic Philanthropies, Young Physician Leaders Program at European School of Management and Technology in Germany, and the Emerging Voices Program at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium.
In 2022, Dr. Ho was honored with three awards in the Philippines: Outstanding Alumni by Chiang Kai Shek College, Ten Outstanding Young Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) by the TOWNS Foundation, and Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) by the Junior Chamber International (JCI).
Vicente Salas, Member
Dr. Vicente “Vic” Salas was elected to the Board in April 2015 and is the immediate past Chairperson of CFSI. He first engaged with CFSI in 1988 when responding to the health care needs of Vietnamese refugees in Palawan, and then again in the mid-1990s, while supporting CFSI’s HIV/AIDS awareness-raising activities.
A citizen of both the Philippines and the United Kingdom (UK), Dr. Salas has worked in fifteen countries beginning with five years of work with refugees in the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the former Yugoslavia (specifically Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina), followed by development-oriented work in most of Southeast Asia, plus Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and the UK.
Dr. Salas was based in Cambodia for 13 years, serving as a consultant for a wide range of international and local stakeholders in the following subject areas: HIV/AIDS, gender and sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, public health, migration health, evaluation, research, and both programme and organizational development, including resource mobilization. Vic returned to the Philippines in March 2020 and now resides in Iloilo City.
Dr. Salas has served as a Medical Officer, Team Leader, Trainer, Researcher, Founding Executive Director, and Consultant for both large and small organizations. He has also played a leading role in the development of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sector, including an organization start-up, human resources development, fund-raising, and voluntary certification systems development.
He has served as a Medical Officer, Team Leader, Trainer, Researcher, Founding Executive Director, and Consultant for both large and small organizations. Dr. Salas has also played a leading role in the development of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sector, including an organization start-up, human resources development, fund-raising, and voluntary certification systems development.
Vic holds a medical degree from West Visayas State University and a master’s degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University in the USA. Vic was re-elected to the Board in November 2025.
Cecilia “Cheche” Lazaro, Member
A nationally and internationally acclaimed broadcast journalist and media leader, Ms. Lazaro—more prominently known as “Cheche”—is the founding President of Probe Productions, Inc. and anchor of “The Probe Team”, the first Filipino investigative newsmagazine for television that has won both local and international recognition.
For her outstanding achievements in the television industry, Ms. Lazaro has received the “Gawad CCP” from Cultural Center of the Philippines, been named one of the “Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) for Broadcast Journalism”, and given the “Gawad Plaridel” by the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Mass Communications. In 2014, she received the Marshall McLuhan Fellowship for excellence in journalism, awarded by the Embassy of Canada.
In addition to numerous awards. Ms. Lazaro served as Associate Professor at the UP College of Mass Communications, where she also served as the Chairperson of the Broadcast Department.
Ms. Lazaro earned her first degree in Speech and Drama at the UP and a Master of Arts degree in Radio-Television at the University of Michigan in the United States. In addition to CFSI, Ms. Lazaro serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and has traveled extensively in Asia, North America, South America, and Europe.
Cheche was first elected to the CFSI Board of Trustees in June 2010 and has previously served as Public Relations Officer and member of the Executive Committee. Re-elected to the Board in November 2025, she is a citizen of the Philippines.
Le Nhan Phuong, Member
Born in South Vietnam and now an American citizen, Dr. Le Nhan Phuong earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, followed by a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati Hospital and Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. He later earned a Master of Public Health (MPH), specializing in International Health, from Johns Hopkins University, as well as an Executive MBA from the University of Hawaiʻi.
In 1999, Dr. Phuong left his academic appointment and medical practice at the University of Cincinnati to move to Hanoi to help build public health capacity in Vietnam. By 2003, he had helped establish the Atlantic Philanthropies Vietnam Representative Office and became its Country Director. In this role, he facilitated the awarding and oversaw the implementation of more than US$384 million in grants supporting population health and higher education programs.
Following the completion of this work, Dr. Phuong founded Resources for Health Equity (RHE) in 2013, a nonprofit organization focused on Southeast Asia, and served as its Chief Executive Officer.
In 2015, after helping mobilize US$50 million in pooled funding for health leadership development in Asia, Dr. Phuong joined the China Medical Board (CMB), where he also served concurrently as Regional Director for Southeast Asia. Over the subsequent decade, he co-founded the Equity Initiative for Transformative Health Leadership in Southeast Asia and China and served as its Executive Director. Funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and the China Medical Board, the Initiative includes the Equity Initiative Fellowship, a fully funded program for mid-career professionals from Southeast Asia and China, aimed at strengthening leadership capacity and deepening commitment to advancing health equity and social justice. By the end of 2025, more than 250 individuals had become Equity Initiative Fellows and were making significant contributions to health equity across the region.
Evacuated from Saigon to the United States at the age of 10, Dr. Phuong has been associated with CFSI in various capacities for nearly four decades, beginning as a volunteer at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center during summers in college and medical school. He first served on the Board from 2009 to 2011, returned in 2014, and later served as Chair of the Resource Development Committee. He was re-elected to the Board in November 2025.
Michael Mastura, Member
Atty. Datu Michael Mastura is a noted lawyer, Shariah law scholar, legislator, peacebuilder, author, and lecturer. He is a descendant of the 16th-century monarch Muhammad Kudarat, also known as the Sultan of Kudarat.
Atty. Mastura was a senior member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Peace Panel that negotiated a political settlement with the Philippine Government after nearly forty years of armed conflict in Mindanao, marked by the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) on 27 March 2014. In February 2026, the Ateneo de Davao University bestowed upon Atty. Mastura the Doctor of Humanities degree, Honoris Causa, for “his lifelong contribution to the legal and historical affirmation of the Bangsamoro identity” and noted that “he has helped shape the intellectual and institutional foundation of autonomy and cultural integrity in Muslim Mindanao.”
Atty. Mastura, then just 30 years old, was elected as a Delegate to the 1971 Philippine Constitutional Convention. He represented the province of Maguindanao and Cotabato City in the Philippine Congress from 1987 through 1995. At different points in time, he served as a Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Muslim Affairs, Member of the Board of Regents of the Mindanao State University (MSU), Member of the Southern Philippines Development Authority, and Member of the Mindanao Economic Development Council.
Atty. Mastura is the Founder as well as current President of the Sultan Kudarat Islamic Academy (SKIA) Foundation College, located in Maguindanao del Norte, Mindanao. He is the Co-Founder of the Southeast Asian Shariah Law Association as well as Founder of the Islamic Welfare Society of the Philippines. He served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philippine Amanah Bank from 1984 to 1986.
A citizen of the Philippines, Datu Mastura earned the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City and the Master of Laws degree at the University of the Philippines. He is the recipient of a variety of fellowships and has been a member of official delegations to a wide range of countries. Atty. Mastura was first elected to the Board of CFSI in 2002 and re-elected in November 2025.
Bayani Hidalgo Agabin, Member
Bayani Agabin was appointed Undersecretary of the Philippine Government’s Department of Finance (DOF) in 2016, a position he still holds. He serves as an alternate for the Secretary of Finance or represents the DOF in various government boards and committees. These include, for example, bodies established under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL)—an outcome of the peace process—such as the Inter-Governmental Relations Body, Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy Board, and the Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization.
A citizen of the Philippines, Bayani earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and the Bachelor of Law degree at the University of the Philippines.
After completing law school, Atty. Agabin joined the SyCip, Salazar, Hernandez, and Gatmaitan Law Office as an Associate. He subsequently served as Manager of the Legal Services Department of Eastern Telecommunications Philippines, Inc., and then Assistant Vice President of the Legal Department and Deputy Counsel for the privatized Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation.
Bayani was a founding Partner of the Tolosa, Romulo, Agabin, Flores, and Enriquez Law.
Bayani began his time with CFSI as Legal Adviser in the late 1990s. After several years of distinguished, pro bono service in this capacity, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the first time in 2005, well before joining Government. He subsequently served in a variety of important Board roles, including Chairperson. Bayani was re-elected as a Member of the Board in November 2025
Cliff Picton, Member
Cliff Picton has been engaged with CFSI since 1999, beginning in his capacity as a representative of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He was first elected to the Board in 2005.
Born in Wales and a citizen of both the United Kingdom and Australia, Mr. Picton obtained his education at the University of Wales and the University of Liverpool and, following migration to Australia, a master’s degree in social work at Monash University.
Cliff first served on the faculty at Leicester University in the United Kingdom and played a leading role in social work education at Monash University in Melbourne. He subsequently moved on to La Trobe University, also in Melbourne, where he had a long and distinguished career, serving for different periods of time as head of the Graduate School in Social Work, Associate Dean (International) of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Director of the Regional Centre for Social Development at the Department of Social Work and Social Policy, and finally Ombudsman of the University. Cliff work at La Trobe required extensive international travel and the establishment of relationships with other institutions and organizations, including CFSI.
Mr. Picton’s areas of expertise include social development, ageing, and child and family welfare. He has served as Secretary-General of the International Federation on Ageing; Editor of three journals—the Journal of Family Studies, Australian Journal of Child and Family Welfare and Australian Journal on Ageing; and author of many publications on social work education, ageing, and inter-country adoption. He has also served as a consultant to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Since joining the Board of CFSI, Cliff has played a variety of helpful roles, including Chairperson of the Personnel Committee. He was re-elected to the Board in November 2025.
Eileen Cordero-Batac, Member
A US and Philippine qualified legal professional, Atty. Eileen Cordero-Batac has broad experience in corporate matters, particularly mergers and acquisitions, foreign investments, project financing, corporate restructuring, and start-ups. This experience was gained through work in law firms in the Philippines and New York and continues as she splits here time between Manila and Madrid, Spain, to which she recently relocated.
Eileen is recognized as an expert in trans-jurisdictional transactions, helping both private and public organizations carry out due diligence and negotiate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes. She has served as counsel to Philippine as well as multinational clients from diverse industries and has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating a range of important agreements.
Presently an Independent Legal Advisor, Eileen began her professional practice in the Philippines as a Law Clerk for a Supreme Court Justice and then worked as Court Attorney in the Supreme Court. She then served as an International Attorney for Milbank LLP in New York. Subsequently, Eileen became a Partner in the Romulo, Mabanta, Buenaventura, Sayoc, and De Los Angeles law firm in her native Philippines.
Eileen earned the Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree at the University of the Philippines and the Juris Doctor with second honors at the Ateneo de Manila University. She was awarded the Master of Laws degree at Columbia University School of Law in New York in 1998.
First elected to the Board of CFSI in 2015, Eileen has provided helpful guidance on various corporate matters, enabled social workers in the Philippines to complete graduate degree programmes in the profession, and mobilized a fresh food drive for persons with disabilities during the severe lockdowns imposed by the Philippine Government during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was re-elected to the Board in November 2025.
Tristan Loanzon, Member
Tristan Loanzon was first elected to the Board of Trustees of CFSI in 2005 and re-elected in November 2025. He is a trial attorney in New York City, where he established his own law firm (Loanzon LLP) in 2013.
Tristan received his Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University Law School where he was an Articles Editor of the Law Review. He subsequently earned a Master of Laws degree at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.
After law school, Atty. Loanzon practiced civil and commercial litigation at large firms in Washington, DC and New York. At present, he litigates commercial lawsuits in federal and state courts, including jury trials, and represents clients in arbitration, mediations, and the negotiation and drafting of corporate contracts.
Atty. Loanzon advises non-profit organizations, emerging companies, and medium-sized businesses on a variety of corporate matters and litigation. He is a founding Member of Friends of CFSI in New York.
In addition to his law practice, Tristan is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Intensive Trial Advocacy Programme at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Born in the Philippines, he is now a citizen of the United States.
Anne Orquiza, Member
Anne Orquiza joined the CFSI Board of Trustees in November 2022, was re-elected in November 2025, and is the current Chairperson of the Personnel Committee. She first engaged with CFSI in 2006 during her stint with the Australian Government in the development and management of humanitarian, protection and recovery programs and projects in response to several disasters triggered by natural hazards and conflict in the Philippines.
Ms. Orquiza, a citizen of the Philippines, is a development and humanitarian professional with 28 years of experience including 18 years in international development cooperation. Her areas of interest include environment, disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, and regional and local development including on policy formulation, program design and management, partnership and collaboration.
Now connected with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Anne has been working across several countries in Asia Pacific on disaster-resilient development and post-disaster recovery. Before joining ADB in 2020, she worked for over a decade with the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), managing programs and projects on disaster risk management, climate change adaptation and urban resilience, as well as emergency response and humanitarian assistance in the Philippines.
Prior to serving with the Australian Government, Anne worked with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), German Development Cooperation (GTZ), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) managing programs on climate change, regional and local development, and agriculture. Early in her career, she worked with the Philippine Government’s Department of Agriculture and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on policy and strategy development, investment programming, and monitoring and evaluation.
Ms. Orquiza earned a Master of Science in Environmental Science degree, a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, and post-graduate degrees on urban development and regional planning from the University of the Philippines. She also earned a Diploma of Government from the Australian Public Service Commission and a Graduate Certificate on Humanitarian Leadership from Deakin University (Australia). Currently serving with ADB in India, Anne enjoys traveling and photography, trekking and scuba diving, running and yoga.
Li Hao Zhuang, Member
Li Hao Zhuang is the newest member of the Board, elected in November 2025. A citizen of Singapore, Mr. Zhuang is a former Chief Executive with over 30 years of leadership experience in insurance, banking, and consulting across Asia. He now focuses his time on his three passion areas: Volunteering, Education, and Advisory & Mentorship.
On Volunteering, Li Hao serves, in addition to CFSI, as Board and Management Council member in Koh Chuan Primary & Secondary School and Mercu Learning. He also serves on the fund-raising committee for the Society for the Aged Sick. Li Hao has been a Group Leader with Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) for over 10 years. In addition, he serves as a volunteer mentor for alumni and students at the National University of Singapore (NUS), National Technology University (NTU), and Singapore Management University (SMU).
On Education, Li Hao has published a case study under the National Technology University (NTU) Asian Business Case Centre. He also teaches private bankers and insurance leaders at the Wealth Management Institute of Singapore. Li Hao served as Adjunct Professor at NTU, as well as a teaching assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.
On Advisory and Mentorship, Li Hao counsels and mentors senior leaders in an Asian bank in high-stake, high-challenge, high support situations. He also runs executive training for a regional insurer.
In the corporate world, Li Hao was President and CEO of FWD Insurance in the Philippines. He also held senior executive positions in Agency Distribution in FWD Group and AIA Group, and in marketing at Great Eastern Life Singapore. In banking, Li Hao served as Senior Director at Standard Chartered Bank in various positions, including strategy, distribution, and priority banking. Prior to that, he started his career as an Associate with Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company.
Li Hao graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom with a BEng (Hons).
Cornelio G. Banaag, Jr., Chairperson Emeritus †
Dr. Cornelio Banaag, “Cornie” to his friends, became part of CFSI family in 1981, beginning as Consultant Psychiatrist within four months of the inception of the Organization at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center,. He travelled nearly every month from Manila to the refugee camp four hours away in Bataan, helping the newly founded organization provide specialized mental health services for refugees who had survived genocide or severe trauma including sexual violence, as well as refugees who were dealing with either acute or chronic mental health conditions. This work became one of his top professional and personal priorities as evidenced by his continuous service in various capacities, including most frequently-elected Chairperson and, from November 2024, Chairperson Emeritus. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 90 on 27 March 2026.
Cornie was an internationally renowned child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, educator, and author. Widely recognized as the “father of child and adolescent psychiatry” in the Philippines, Dr. Banaag was long the Section Head of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training Program of the Department of Psychiatry at The Medical City, President of the Asian Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions, as well as President of the Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA).
Dr. Banaag served as Chairperson, Professor Emeritus, and/or Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the College of Medicine at the University of the Philippines for almost four decades. He also taught for several years in the Department of Psychiatry at Hahnemann University in the United States.
A Technical Advisor on Substance Abuse for the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Banaag also served as a Technical Advisor for the Mentor Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland. He was a founding member of the Philippine Psychiatric Association and served as its President several times.
Dr. Banaag established the first training programmes in child psychiatry in the Philippines and helped develop and implement a formal training programme in psychiatry in Cambodia. He played a leading role in mental health and psychosocial care for children in need of special protection in the Asia and Pacific Region, including those who live or work on the streets and those who are refugees or internally displaced.
Dr. Banaag earned his medical and psychiatry degrees at the University of the Philippines as well as a Certificate in Child Psychiatry at the Worcester Youth Guidance Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. A citizen of the Philippines, Cornie was the recipient of many distinguished awards, at both the domestic and international levels. These include the International Contribution Award, presented to Dr. Banaag in Dubai in 2022 by the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions.
Widely recognized for his expertise, humility, humor, and warmth, Cornie served with CFSI since its very early days in 1981. He was elected Chairperson on many occasions, most recently elected to this post in November 2023. He travelled to many CFSI field sites, both domestically and internationally, and was well received by one and all. Recognizing his exemplary service with CFSI over nearly 45 years, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted, in early 2025, to honor Cornie Banaag with title Chairperson Emeritus, the role he faithfully played until his very last days.
While Cornie’s physical presence will be sorely missed, his generosity of spirit, example of servant leadership, and positive impact on the lives of children, women, and men, will long serve as guideposts for CFSI—the organization, people, and work he clearly loved so much.