Cesar Virata, the Marcos-era prime minister, 95
He was not on the list.
Former Prime Minister Cesar Virata, who was also the country’s longest-serving finance chief, died Friday at 95, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) announced.
Virata, the last prime minister of the Philippines under the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., died on Friday at 95.
“It is with deep sorrow that the bank announces the passing of Mr. Cesar E.A. Virata, our corporate vice chairperson/Director, today, October 2, 2026,” RCBC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
“Mr. Virata was a valuable part of the organization, having been a director of the bank since 1995 and the board’s corporate vice chairperson for 26 years,” the bank said.
The Department of Finance said it mourns the passing of Virata who was born on Dec. 12, 1930.
“We honor his service to the nation and extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. May he rest in peace,” it said.
“The Philippines has lost a great public servant. My deepest condolences to his family. May the loss of PM Virata remind us of the gains we made with a leader like him. Thank you, PM Virata, for the example and for the foundations you left us,” said former finance secretary Cesar Purisima.
The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) cited Virata’s contributions to economic management, public service and nation-building.
It said Virata, whom it recognized as its Management Person of the Year in 1981, exemplified professional management and public service during a career that spanned the private and public sectors.
The MAP said his work was marked by managerial competence, professionalism and a strong sense of responsibility to the nation.
“His leadership stands as an enduring example of how integrity, competence, and principled leadership can be placed in the service of the greater good,” the MAP said.
The MAP said it would remember Virata as a statesman and management leader whose career reflected a commitment to nation-building.
“May his legacy of integrity, professionalism and devoted service to the country continue to inspire generations of Filipino leaders and managers,” the group said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also mourned the passing of Virata and extended its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.
“Minister Virata devoted his life to public service and to strengthening the Philippine economy and financial system. For the Philippine capital market, his legacy is especially enduring. As an incorporator of the Philippine Stock Exchange and a leading proponent of the country’s fixed-income trading platform, he helped establish institutions and market infrastructure that have supported the development of a deeper, more modern and more resilient capital market,” the SEC said in a statement.
“His contributions reached beyond policy and government—they helped shape the financial institutions and markets that continue to serve the Philippine economy today,” the corporate regulator said.
Virata served as prime minister from 1981 to 1986. He held the finance portfolio from 1970 to 1986 and was regarded as a key economic technocrat and fiscal conservative.
He also headed the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and chaired the Board of Investments. He represented the Philippines as governor at the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Virata joined the RCBC board in 1995 and became a senior adviser to the Yuchengco-led bank in 2007. He also held directorships and advisory roles at Malayan Insurance Co., Lopez Holdings Corp. and World Trade Center Management Inc.
Before entering government, Virata was dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Business Administration and a principal at accounting firm SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. The college was later named the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business in his honor.
He earned engineering and business degrees from UP and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Japan conferred on him the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 2016 for strengthening Philippine-Japan economic ties.
Virata was a grand-nephew of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine Republic.
