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Presidential Assistant for the Visayas
Philip G. Lo is a Cebuano business leader and public servant whose career bridges entrepreneurship, banking, industry, and government. In July 2026, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appointed him Secretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), placing him at the center of national-government coordination across Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas. In this role, he serves as a key link between the Office of the President, national government agencies, local government units, and regional stakeholders in advancing priority programs and development initiatives.
Before assuming leadership of OPAV, Lo served as Chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), one of the country’s principal government financial institutions supporting infrastructure, industry, agriculture, small and medium enterprises, and national development. He joined the DBP board in 2022 and became chairman in 2024, giving him significant exposure to development finance, investment, and the role of capital in supporting economic transformation.
Lo also brings decades of private-sector experience. He has chaired the Coast Pacific Group of Companies and Toyota Mabolo Cebu, Inc., with business interests and experience spanning automobile dealerships, hospitality, furniture manufacturing, real estate development, construction, warehouse leasing, restaurants, motorcycle assembly, shipping, trading, exports and logistics, public transportation, financing, insurance, industrial refrigeration, agriculture, and related industries. This broad entrepreneurial background gives him direct familiarity with the opportunities and challenges encountered by businesses operating across multiple sectors.
His public-sector experience extends beyond DBP. Lo previously served as a director of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) from 2002 to 2010 and as a director of Cocogen Insurance, Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Santo Tomas and has completed specialized studies in corporate governance.
As Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Lo has emphasized making government more accessible, responsive, and effective for Visayan communities. His mandate includes helping coordinate national and local efforts involving public services, infrastructure, investment, and economic growth while ensuring that priority government projects are effectively implemented across the region.
For Cebu Economic Forum 4.0, Lo’s participation carries particular significance. As both a Cebuano entrepreneur and the President’s principal coordinating official for the Visayas, he brings together two perspectives essential to regional development: how government can enable economic opportunity, and what businesses require for investment and growth to happen on the ground.
His message of support reinforces the Forum’s larger objective of connecting Cebu’s ambitions with national priorities, stronger regional coordination, investment, infrastructure, and economic development across the Visayas.
Message of Support
September 8, 2026 | Opening Program
