The glass ceiling for women is occasionally lamented in the world. Fortunately for the Philippines and the insurance industry, this has been broken for a long time. Among the ones standing on the broken shards and pieces is Evangeline Crisostomo Escobillo. Vangie, as she is known among those close to her, has been a force on both sides of the fence: as part of the industry and as part of the regulators.
Vangie graduated from the premier state university, University of the Philippines, in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, major in Actuarial Science. Staying with the university, she completed her Master of Statistics in 1978 and Master in Business Administration in 1981. With the Asian Institute of Management, Vangie completed the Top Management Program in 1983 and Advanced Bank Management in 1990. In 2009, she graduated from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government with a Master in Public Administration. She also became an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management with the aforementioned university and completed the Good Governance Program at the Institute of Corporate Directors in the same year.
In a career spanning decades, the journey began with four (4) years in Manila Bankers Life Corporation starting in 1975. She then served as Assistant Vice President and Actuary for Philippine Life Corporation in 1979. From 1981-1982, she went back to University of the Philippines to serve as a senior lecturer for the MBA program. She also served as Vice President for Management Services & Actuary at KCFAPI from 1980-1983. From 1983-1996, she was President of Anchor Finance and Investment Corporation. She then became President of Anchor Savings Bank from 1996-2005.
She founded the Present Value Managers, Inc. (PVMI) in 1993 and served as its principal until 2013.
She had served as Chairman and President for General Institute for Empowerment Corporation (2008 to present), GIECO Resources and Lending Corporation (2010 to present), Swiss Security and Risk Management Corporation (2010 to present) and Universal Actuaries Inc. (2011 to present).
Through the years, Vangie had served as actuarial consultant for both private and government institutions. She has shared her actuarial expertise to the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (1991-2002), USAID (2002-2003), Systems Technology Institute, Inc. (2009), Philplans First Inc. (2009 to present), Government Security and Insurance System (2011), Leapfrog Investment Inc. (2011), Home Guaranty Corp (2011) and Sony Life Insurance Corp, Ltd (2012).
Vangie became the Philippine Insurance Commissioner from 2005 to 2007. In her tenure, she had made sweeping changes to ensure the robustness of the insurance industry. Among the reform programs she had implemented are increased minimum capitalization of insurance companies and brokers, the introduction of risk-based capital framework and the computerization of the Insurance Commission’s operating system and data file.
Vangie had also served in various associations and societies such as Association of Insurance Supervisory Authorities of Developing Countries, Association of Insurers and Reinsurers of Developing Countries, Management Association of the Philippines, Galing Pook and Actuarial Society of the Philippines.
Accolades were also a fixture in Vangie’s life. Some of the awards she had won are Recognition Award for serving as elected Governor – Region 14 of the American Society of Appraisers USA (1996), Most Outstanding Member from the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (1999) and Most Outstanding Alumna of the College of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman (2005).
Though Vangie is known to be direct and incisive, some of her staff has spoken of her motherly warmth and timely encouragements. Being a force, indefatigable and prolific, is indeed a marvel to behold but more so how lives are touched beyond numbers and counting.
SDModina
