Past Chairmen of the Board of Regents

The Board of Regents has already been served by six (6) chairmen since its conception on 09 January 1967. The first chairman was elected on 23 February 1967, along with the pioneer president as its vice-chairman.

Atty. Carlos Moran Sison
23 February 1967 to 04 April 1972

Arch. Otillo A. Arellano
14 April 1972 to 14 May 1981

Hon. Celso Al Carunungan
10 June 1981 to 15 February 1988

Dr. Jose D. Villanueva
16 January 1989 to 27 March 1992
A Wharton-educated management expert and the youngest elected legislative official of Manila before his appointment as PLM regent. He is a homegrown academician as a long-time vice-president for administration and subsequently as executive vice president before his election as university president. At the end of his single presidential term, inspite of the insistence of his fellow regents, he begged off another term and decided to pass the baton of leadership to a younger hand. He then became the first ever conferee of the honorific title President Emeritus and was eventually elected as chairman of the Board of Regents.

Dr. Benjamin G. Tayabas
28 March 1992 to 24 June 1996
A US-trained educator who initially served as research director, dean of the graduate school, vice president for academic affairs and executive vice president. While serving as university president, he was likewise elected as chairman of the Board of Regents. He distinguished himself as having served the presidency for 3 terms, with the last having been cut short by his retirement in 2007.

Dr. Alejandro R. Roces
25 June 1996 to 13 August 2004
A National Artist (Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) for literature conferred with the highest recognition by the President of the Philipines for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts. Multi-awarded and US-educated, Dr. Roces is infamous for his short stories. He is a Filipino fictionalist, essayist and dramatist but is best known for his stint as a young Secretary of Education in the 1960s. Dr. Roces initially served as a regent for a few years before his election as Board chair.

Justice Justo P. Torres, Jr.

Atty. Amado D. Valdez

Dr. Benjamin E. Diokno


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