Amenah Pangandaman

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Amenah Pangandaman
Sec-Amenah-Pangandaman (cropped).jpg
Official portrait, 2022
13th Secretary of Budget and Management
In office
June 30, 2022 November 17, 2025

Amenah Flaminiano Pangandaman [1] (born December 25, 1977 [2] ) is a Filipino economist who served as the 13th secretary of budget and management from 2022 until 2025 under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos. [3] She was the first Muslim woman budget secretary and was the sole female member of President Marcos's economic team until her resignation as secretary. Prior to serving as budget secretary, she was assistant governor at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas from 2021 to 2022, as well as the chief of staff to Benjamin Diokno from 2016 to 2022, to Senator Loren Legarda from 2015 to 2016, and to Senator Edgardo Angara from 2007 to 2013. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Born on December 25, 1977, [7] [2] Pangandaman is the only child of Almen and Nancy Pangandaman, two former government workers. [2]

She earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Far Eastern University. She also has a master's degree in Development Economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman. Currently, she is pursuing an Executive Master of Public Administration from the London School of Economics. [6] [8]

Career

Pangandaman started her career as a researcher at the Senate of the Philippines. She climbed up the ranks until eventually becoming chief of staff to former Senate president Edgardo Angara in 2007. She also worked with former Senate finance committee chairperson Loren Legarda. [9] [10]

Pangandaman had served as a budget official during Benjamin Diokno's time as budget secretary, becoming assistant secretary from 2016 to 2018 and undersecretary from 2018 to 2019. [10] During that stint, she was the group head of the Office of the Secretary and was a "key mover" in the preparation, implementation, and monitoring of the General Appropriations Act, or the national budget. [9] In February 2019, Pangandaman's role in forming the 2019 national budget received scrutiny after several employees from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) testified before a congressional hearing that the ₱75 million added to the agency's budget was on her order. [11] [12] Diokno defended her by arguing that the amount added to DPWH's budget was "aboveboard", but the addition was nevertheless removed when the 2019 budget was ratified in the same month. [6] [13]

After Diokno was assigned to head the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP; lit.'Central Bank of the Philippines') in March 2019, Pangandaman joined the BSP soon after as a technical advisor, later becoming the managing director of the Office of the Governor and Executive Offices in the same year. In 2021, she became its assistant governor. [10] [14]

She was appointed DBM Secretary by President Bongbong Marcos in July 2022. Meanwhile, her appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on September 28, 2022. [15]

On May 22, 2025, President Marcos ordered members of his cabinet to tender their courtesy resignations following the results of the May 12, 2025, midterm elections. [16] [17] Pangandaman immediately complied with this order. [18] However, on May 23, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced that President Marcos had chosen to retain his entire economic team, including Pangandaman, in their current positions. [19]

She resigned as the Secretary of Budget and Management on November 17, 2025, following her office's alleged involvement in flood control corruption. [20]

Personal life

Hailing from Lanao del Sur, [21] she is a Muslim and a Maranao princess. [22] Her father, Almen, is from Marawi, while her mother is from Tarlac City. Her royal lineage is traced to her grandparents' membership in royal houses of the Maranao in Marawi. [3] She is unmarried. [22]

References

  1. "Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman named 2024 MSU-IIT Commencement Speaker". Office of the Campus Secretary of The Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Romulo, Mons (August 29, 2023). "DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman: Don't scrimp on hard work, spend on kindness". The Philippine Star. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Gutierrez, Dennis (September 28, 2022). "CA confirms appointment of Pangandaman as DBM secretary". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  4. "Meet the DBM's New Senior Executives" (PDF). The DBM Bulletin. Department of Budget and Management. July–September 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  5. Diaz, Jess (February 8, 2019). "Benjamin Diokno to attend House probe on budget". Philstar.com . Manila, Philippines. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Rey, Aika (May 30, 2022). "Amenah Pangandaman is next budget secretary". Rappler . Manila, Philippines. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  7. "Happy Birthday Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman". Department of Budget and Management. December 25, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2025 via Instagram.
  8. "Profile of Sec. Amenah Pangandaman". Pag-IBIG Fund. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Rey, Aika (May 30, 2022). "Amenah Pangandaman is next budget secretary". Rappler. Rappler News. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 RISE: The Women Leaders of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (PDF). Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. 2022. pp. 48–51.
  11. Ager, Maila (January 23, 2019). "Legarda: P75B 'insertion' 'mutated' in 2019 budget". Inquirer.net . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  12. Gacson, Melvin (February 7, 2019). "DBM exec tagged in P75B 'insertions' in DPWH budget". Inquirer.net . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  13. Lalu, Gabriel Pabico (February 8, 2025). "After months of delay, Congress finally ratifies 2019 budget". Inquirer.net . Manila, Philippines. Retrieved November 19, 2025. The ratified version of the budget contains the "pork" insertions made by lawmakers[....] This is aside from the P75 billion worth of projects allegedly inserted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)[...]
  14. Agcaoili, Lawrence (March 5, 2019). "Budget chief Benjamin Diokno named BSP governor". Philstar.com . Manila, Philippines. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  15. Aravilla, Jose; Romero, Paolo (September 29, 2022). "Pangandaman, Manalo get CA nod". Philstar.com. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  16. "Marcos calls for courtesy resignation of all Cabinet secretaries in 'bold reset'". ABS-CBN News. May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  17. "No defiance here: Cabinet members follow Marcos call to resign". Politiko. May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  18. Cigaral, Ian Nicolas P. (May 22, 2025). "Recto, Pangandaman resign from Cabinet". Inquirer.net. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  19. Cordero, Ted (May 23, 2025). "Bersamin, Pangandaman resign". GMA News. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  20. "Marcos calls for courtesy resignation of all Cabinet secretaries in 'bold reset'". Inquirer.net. November 17, 2025. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  21. "Amenah Pangandaman". Rappler. May 30, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  22. 1 2 Siytangco, Deedee (April 11, 2023). "Royalty for DBM—Princess Amenah". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
Political offices
Preceded by
Tina Rose Marie Canda
as OIC
Secretary of Budget and Management
2022–2025
Succeeded byas OIC