Mr. Anton Palo is the current General Manager of Foodlink Advocacy Co-operative, a talent pool of agribusiness experts and practitioners with a common passion working towards poverty eradication. Anton is involved in consultancy activities, among others, as value chain development consultant for Grow Asia; technical advisor to agricultural cooperatives and organizations such as AgriCOOPh Federation; and provider of facilitation services for the public, private, and development sectors. He is involved in the promotion of the use of home-grown swine genetics together with the INFARMCO Group, use of microbe-based solutions for crop growth with Inavet Nutrition Tech, and the digitalization of farm communities with the ANSA Group.

Expertise:
• A trade specialist on Trade-related Investment Measures (TRIMs), Safeguards, and Trade in Textiles and Clothing during the Uruguay Round (UR) of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that created the WTO. Over the years, assumed more senior responsibilities on the results of the UR, the stalled Doha Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA), and other new issues emerging.

• Involved in the implementation of Philippine commitments in the WTO, particularly, on the passage of trade remedy laws of anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguard duties. Largely part of Philippine technical teams for the country’s WTO Trade Policy Reviews (TPRs) as well as dispute settlement procedures, particularly a successful pursuit of discriminatory Thai measures applied on cigarette imports from the Philippines and found inconsistent with WTO rules by a Panel.

• Initial Lead Negotiator for the country’s regional free trade agreements (FTAs) under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with countries like China, India, South Korea and Japan. Acted as the country’s ASEAN Senior Economic Official (SEOM); also as initial Lead Negotiator on the ASEAN’s Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) with Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. Acted as the Deputy Senior Official (SOM) for the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC). Lead Negotiator of the goods text of the Philippines-EFTA FTA with the European Free Trade Association countries, the goods text of the PH-EU FTA with the European Union, the review of the trade in goods of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) and the ongoing Philippines – Korea FTA negotiations.

• A resource person on the WTO. A participant in the GATT Trade Policy Course in Geneva and in many GATT-WTO seminars, workshops, and conferences.

Education:
• A.B. Economics, University of the Philippines, 1981
• Graduate Diploma in Economics of Development, Australian National University (ANU), 1992
• Master of Economics of Development, ANU, 1993

Dr. Roehlano M. Briones is a Senior Research Fellow at Philippine Institute for Development Studies, where he conducts policy research for the Philippine government, with specialization in agriculture. He has authored numerous published research papers and co-edited four books, on the economics of agriculture and natural resources, rural development, food security, international trade, and the macroeconomy. He is a Board Member of the consultancy group Brain Trust Inc., past Board Member of the Philippine Economic Society, as well as Fellow of the Foundation for Economic Freedom. He has provided technical assistance to government agencies in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and various Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bodies, while consulting for international donor agencies. He was the lead expert for drafting the Rules and Procedures for the Release and Replenishment of ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve Stocks. In 2017, he was the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) College of Economics and Management Outstanding Alumnus for Economics and Public Policy, as well as UPLB Outstanding Alumnus. Previously, he was an assistant professor at Ateneo de Manila University and UPLB. He obtained his Ph.D. from the UP School of Economics in 2000 and did postdoctoral research at the WorldFish Center in Penang, Malaysia.

Christopher A. Ilagan joined Cargill Philippines Inc. last July 2019 as its Corporate Affairs Director. In this capacity, he provides strategic leadership in the company’s corporate communications, government relations, corporate responsibility, sustainable development and branding practice areas. He is a member of the company’s Senior Leadership Team.

Over the years, Chris has built his expertise in the government and regulatory affairs space. From 2017 to June 2019, Chris was the Government Affairs and Markets Leader for 3M Philippines. Prior to that, Chris worked with Manila Water Company, Inc. – the East Zone Water Concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System - where he rose the ranks to eventually become the Group Head for Corporate Regulatory Affairs. His career in the government affairs and regulation space began in the global port operator, International Container Terminal Services, Inc., where he served as the company’s Industry Affairs and Special Projects Officer.

Because of his work in the local water space, Chris has maintained a personal advocacy on water sustainability and governance. He is currently the Chairperson-elect of the Philippine Water Partnership – a non-government organization dedicated to the advancement of integrated water resource management – and continues to be involved in various policy dialogues geared towards improving the management of water resources in the country. He also serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Movement for Water Security – a local private sector-led movement advocating for the more sustainable management and development of the country’s water resources.

Chris is also very active in the local business community as a leader and member in a number of associations. He is the current Committee Chair of the Agribusiness and Manufacturing Committees of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Board Member of the Philippine Veterinary Drugs Association, a fellow of the Foundation for Economic Freedom and a member of a number of other local chambers, such as the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers, Inc.

Chris holds a Masters of Political Economy with specialization in International Relations and Development from the University of Asia and the Pacific, where he also received his Bachelor of Art in Humanities.