Infighting at AIM, Part 2

Asian Institute of Management president Roberto de Ocampo explains how Noe Ravalo, who is neither a full-time or an adjunct faculty of AIM, has been able to supervise AIM seminars (and get paid rates higher than those set by AIM).

"…I regularly forward CVs (curriculum vitae) of potentially worthwhile applications for possible AIM faculty to the dean.

" …I expected him (Mr. Ravalo) to be considered for international banking and capital markets, a growing and strategic field, particularly in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis – not economics per se and definitely not for corporate finance, which was not his forte.

"…I did consider it an interesting possibility for him to be executive director of JBF (Jose B. Fernandez Jr. Center) but only if he were faculty. That didn’t happen for various reasons…(as a consequence), I did not appoint him JBF executive director.

"After Felix (Bustos Jr.) resigned from his post at JBF Center, I took over to fill the rather abrupt void and at the request of the Fernandez family. I learned that the assistant executive director was leaving soon as well for greener pastures and I hired Edward (Ravalo), since he was qualified and the only applicant at that time with an MBA as well. Being Noet’s brother does not disqualify him and Noet was, in any case, not in the employ of AIM.

"Now as to the Landbank program, that (the P300,000 paid to AIM by Land Bank of the Philippines for a one-day seminar, of which Mr. Ravalo received P250,000) was the final part of an overall incubation package that was crafted in consultation with the Bangko Sentral, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Professional Risk Manager’s International Association, both local and international, and the Fernandez family…In the process of trying to identify what would be the best Philippine institute to take on this international recognized accreditation role, PRMIA undertook the services of Noet, who, in turn, brought the idea to AIM. After much discussion and consultation with BSP, SEC, and the Fernandez family, it was decided to give it a go with Noet spearheading the incubation process. I thought it a good way strategically to position the JBF Center and, subsequently, AIM in a field that had implications and wide-ranging not only to the Philippines but the region as well, particularly in a post Asia-crisis era during which banking reform was a hot topic. Thus, Noet was to provide JBF with a package of services and doables over a five-month period.

"…Will there be training programs after the Land Bank one? Likely, but not without AIM faculty participation (the one where Mr. Ravelo was course director used non-AIM faculty but participants were issued certifications by AIM) since these would no longer be pilot offerings in the context of incubation.

"…Mr. Tatara of ADBI had come to see me and, in the course of our talk, I believe I managed to avert the possibility that loomed because of the ongoing ADBI program brouhaha (which Mr. Ravalo coordinated in his capacity as consultant to the Office of the AIM President). He is now thinking of a third program run, under AIM policy guidelines."