Keynote Speakers
Senator Grace Poe
Keynote Speaker
Water Security in the Philippines
Senator Grace Poe is a formidable advocate of transparency in governance, efficient delivery of public services, and the protection of the rights of mothers, children, commuters and consumers. In her first term as senator, she immediately set to work creating meaningful legislation, more than 50 of which are now fully enacted laws. Among these are the laws providing for free lunch program for public school children; for maternal and child care for the first 1000 days of life of a child; for free text alerts in times of disaster; for extended validity of driver's license and passports; and making our streets, public spaces, and workplaces safer by prohibiting all forms of sexual harassment; to name a few. She is currently on her second term as senator and continues to serve our country especially our most marginalized and disenfranchised sectors. Senator Grace Poe was chosen as a Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow of the National University of Singapore, a prestigious recognition of excellence in public service.
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Rep. Bernadette Herrera
Keynote Speaker
Women and Their Crucial Role in the Water Sector
Rep. Bernadette Herrera is currently the representative of Bagong Henerasyon Party-List in the House of Representatives, as well as a distinguished leader, advocate, and a staunch supporter of water conservation. She graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Business Economics, and a Masters in Finance. In 2010, Hon. Herrera founded Bagong Henerasyon Foundation, Inc., a nongovernment organization that has become her backbone in providing quality service to those in need. Among her more significant achievements as a legislator are the passing of the Universal Health Care Law, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, the 100 Day Maternity Leave, and of course, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Law. She was also the House Committee Chairperson on Women and Gender Equality during the 17th Congress. For her outstanding performance and contributions, she was awarded "Congressman of the Year" in 2022 by Mosliv.
His Excellency Ambassador Ilan Fluss Embassy of Israel
Keynote Speaker
Digitalization, Technology & Infrastructure
H.E. Israel Ambassador Ilan Fluss served in the Israeli navy for five years, and graduated from the University of Haifa with a degree in psychology and an MBA from the University of Derby. He joined the foreign service in 1994 where he represented Israel in a variety of capacities. He served successively as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines (1995 - 1998), Spokesperson and Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of Israel in the Hague, Netherlands (1998 – 2000), served in the Ministry’s Asian Division (2000 – 2004), Acting Ambassador and later on, as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Pretoria, South Africa, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN (2006), Director for Policy Planning and External Relations and later on as Deputy Head of MASHAV (2009 – 2016), special envoy for the Bureau of the Director General (2016 – 2018), and eventually as the Deputy Head of the Economic Division at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2018 – 2021). He was appointed as the Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines on October 2021.
Undersecretary Carlos Primo David Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Keynote Speaker
Water Governance
Usec. CP David is the Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, a licensed geologist and is a professor at UP Diliman. He brings extensive expertise in both environmental governance and water security. His leadership extends beyond DENR, encompassing roles such as Officer-In-Charge of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute under the Department of Science and Technology and Executive Director for the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research Development. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Local Water Utilities Administration from 2010 to 2011, and currently leads the Water Resource Management Office, which coordinates all National Government Agencies and Government Owned-and-Controlled Corporations related to water security in harmonizing approaches towards achieving a water-secured nation.
Assistant Secretary Glenda Rumohr-Figueroa
Keynote Speaker
Finance and Water Security
ASec. Atty. Glenda R. Rumohr-Figueroa was appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Privatization and Corporate Affairs Group (PCAG) of the Department of Finance in July 2022. PCAG sits as alternates to Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s various Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Board Seats – Local Water Utilities Administration being one of them. With more than a decade of work experience in the government focusing on public administration, public management, public policy, law, research, project management in local government, and stakeholder engagement, Atty. Rumohr-Figueroa has served in various capacities under different administrations and has worked closely with all three branches of government.
Asec. Rumohr-Figueroa obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo Law School in 2013. She graduated from De La Salle University-Manila in 2008 with a degree in Bachelor of Arts major in Political Science.
Dr. Mely Caballero-Anthony Professor, International Relations RSIS, Nanyang Technological University
Keynote Speaker
Critical Role of Water Security in Human Security
Prof. Mely Caballero-Anthony is a Professor of International Relations at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, and holds the President's Chair for International Relations and Security Studies. She is also the Head of the RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies and Associate Dean (External Engagement). Prof. Anthony's research interests include regionalism and multilateralism in Asia-Pacific, human security and non-traditional security, nuclear security, conflict prevention and global governance.She has served as the Secretary-General of the Consortium on Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia since 2008 and is a member of the International Climate Security Expert Network. She was Vice President at-large of the Governing Council of the International Studies Association (ISA) and was member of the ISA's Global South Task Force from 2018-2021. From 2013-2017, Prof Anthony was a member of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (ABDM) and served as its chairperson in 2016. She is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network on Nuclear Non-Proliferation (APLN). She was Director of External Relations at the ASEAN Secretariat from 2011-2012.