Luistro named PBSP president

Former Education Secretary Armin Luistro was recently chosen as president of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), the largest corporate-led social development organization in the country.

PBSP chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said Luistro, the education chief during the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III, assumed the organization’s presidency last Feb. 23.

“He will be tasked to pro- vide overall direction and guidance to the organization and engage members, donors and partners in the collective work of PBSP as the country’s largest business-led nongovernment organization,” Pangilinan said.

Luistro is the fourth president of PBSP, after Sixto Roxas III, Bienvenido Tan and Maria Luisa Perez-Rubio.

Under his leadership, DepEd implemented the K-12 education reform program that added two years in basic education.

Prior to joining Aquino’s Cabinet, Luistro was the president of the De La Salle University. He was also at the helm of the De La Salle Philippines, De La Salle University system, and other De La Salle schools.

He was also an active member of the Philippine Council for NGO Certification, Knowledge Channel Foundation, Philippine Business for Education, and the Sidhay Foundation for Street Children.

PBSP was founded in 1970 by 50 Filipino business leaders who pledged to set aside one percent of their companies’ net income before taxes to pursue poverty reduction programs.

It is currently at the forefront of strategic corporate citizenship and business sector leadership contributing to sustainable development and poverty reduction, implementing programs in the fields of health, education, environment, and livelihood and enterprise development.