Expert Profile
V. Bruce J. Tolentino
Country Representative, Afghanistan
Tel: +(93) 75 20-23-558
Email: btolentino@asiafound.org
Expertise: Economic Reform and Development, Political Economy Approaches to Reform, ASEAN Economies, Agriculture and Rural Development, Governance and Decentralization, NGOs and Development
V. Bruce Tolentino was appointed The Asia Foundation's country representative in Afghanistan on June 24, 2011. He has previously served as chief economist and as acting representative in Sri Lanka and Pakistan for the Foundation. Dr. Tolentino is a former cabinet-level official of the government of the Philippines and a seasoned international development specialist, having worked for many policy research and donor agencies, including the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations. Having led and directed large-scale and diverse programs and teams in challenging environments in Somalia, Cambodia, Southern Philippines, Aceh, and Myanmar, Dr. Tolentino will bring extraordinary field leadership and management experience to the Foundation’s local office in Kabul.
Dr. Tolentino spent two years in Somalia (1993-1995), during particularly difficult times in that country’s history, leading and directing United National Development Programme’s $35 million a year Somalia Rehabilitation Program. From 1989 to 1992, he was deputy minister for Policy, Planning, and International Trade with the Philippines Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Tolentino also made important contributions to the $40 million a year Cambodia Rehabilitation and Reintegration Program (CARERE), where he was responsible for oversight and supervision of provincial offices focused on decentralization, local governance, local development planning, small and micro-scale enterprise development, and women’s empowerment. With Dr. Tolentino’s input and assistance, CARERE evolved into what later became the government of Cambodia’s national decentralization program. In addition, he has extensive NGO experience, most recently serving as senior technical advisor for Catholic Relief Services with regional responsibilities for agriculture, natural resource management, and employment generation programs in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Education: University-level training in Mass Communications at St. Louis University, Philippines; B.S. and M.A. in Economics at Xavier University in the Philippines; Ph.D. in Economic Development and Rural Finance from the East-West Center and University of Hawaii, U.S.A.
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The Economic Reform & Development Program