Ex-NEDA chief Cayetano Paderanga Jr. passes away

MANILA, Philippines – Former socio-economic planning secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr. passed away on Friday. He was 67.

He was appointed as director general of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) when President Benigno Aquino III assumed office in 2010. He later on resigned from government office in 2012 citing poor health.

Paderanga also served as NEDA chief during the administration of Aquino’s mother, the late President Corazon Aquino from 1990 to 1992.

Malacañang on Saturday expressed sympathy over the death of Paderanga .

"We mourn the passing of Cayetano Paderanga Jr., economist and public servant. During his time as NEDA chief under President Benigno S. Aquino III, he helped reinvigorate the institution which he had also headed during the term of President Corazon C. Aquino,” said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda in a press statement.

According to Lacierda, Paderanga played a “significant role in the revitalization of the economy” through the establishment of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.

“His institutional memory and personal integrity made him an effective undersecretary of Agriculture and chief negotiator of the country for the WTO (World Trade Organization) and earned him the respect of his peers in academe," Lacierda added.

67-year-old Paderanga reportedly died of complications of a triple bypass surgery at St Luke's Medical Center Global City in Taguig City.