Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia C. Borromeo was cited by the Provincial Government of Cagayan for her outstanding contribution in banking and public service during the province’s annual awards rites which recognizes the accomplishments of Cagayan natives in various fields, provincial officials said.
President Borromeo was one of four awardees of the 2nd Dangal ng Lahing Cagayano Search held at the Cagayan Sports Coliseum in Tuguegarao City, last June 29.
“It is such a humbling experience to be recognized and honored by the people that you grew up with, in the town that you grew up in,” President Borromeo said in her acceptance speech.
The Dangal ng Lahing Cagayano aims to recognize outstanding, exemplary and distinguished Cagayanos who have made a name not only in the province, but also in the national and international arena. It was established under the leadership of incumbent Governor Manuel N. Mamba.
President Borromeo, who hails from Pamplona, Cagayan, was cited for her contributions to nation-building as president and chief executive officer of DBP, the country’s eighth largest bank in terms of assets. She is the eldest child in a brood of four of Cagayan locals, former Pamplona town Mayor Aldegundo Cayosa and public school teacher Iluminada Cayosa.
President Borromeo started her banking career with Land Bank of the Philippines, rising through the ranks to serve as officer in charge. In 2017, President Rodrigo R. Duterte appointed her as the seventh Chief Executive of DBP since the enactment of Republic Act 8523 that amended the bank’s Charter and created the position of President and CEO.
Under her leadership, DBP sharpened its focus on lending for the infrastructure and logistics sector in support of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build!” program. In 2017, DBP achieved the highest growth in net income in the entire local banking industry at 21.43%, reaching P5.1-billion from P4.2 billion in 2016.
Apart from President Borromeo, other awardees were former Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Mendoza, former Commission on Audit Chairman Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan, and businessman and philanthropist Engineer Diosdado Banatao.