Former Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio “Toting” Bunye was appointed as Monetary Board Member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on July 3, 2008, a position he holds up to the present.

Bunye had served as Press Secretary from July 16, 2002 to January 19, 2003, before he formally assumed the post of Presidential Spokesperson on January 20, 2003.

On August 24, 2004, he was again appointed as Press Secretary this time concurrently as Spokesperson. He was designated as Acting Executive Secretary from October 21 – 30, 2007, during which time he signed the papers pardoning former President Joseph Estrada. He also briefly held the position of Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs before assuming his position at the Monetary Board.

Graduating at the top of his elementary and high school class, Bunye earned the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Laws from the Ateneo de Manila University. He also holds a Masters in Management degree from the Asian Institute of Management.

Bunye began his work in media as a working student at the Ateneo de Manila, first, as a reporter of DZMT, the radio station of the old Manila Times, and later, as reporter of the Daily Star.

He has been inducted as a member of the Manila Overseas Press Club. He is also a life-time member of the National Press Club.

As a DZMT reporter, he covered the Vietnam War and wrote a documentary entitled “The Other War,” a first-person account of the activities of the Philippine Civic Action Group in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. At the Daily Star, he wrote a number of articles, including a four-part series entitled “War Vignettes,” a first-person account of events immediately after the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam in 1968.

A lawyer by profession, Bunye has served in various executive positions at the Ayala Group of Companies, including as Assistant Vice President of the Ayala Investment and Development Corporation and the Bank of the Philippine Islands.

When former President Corazon Aquino assumed office after the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, Bunye was designated Officer-in-Charge of the Municipality of Muntinlupa.

He was elected as Mayor of Muntinlupa from 1988 to 1995. As Muntinlupa Mayor, Bunye also served in a concurrent capacity as Chairman of the then Metropolitan Manila Authority (MMA) from 1991 to 1992. The Metropolitan Manila Authority is the forerunner of the Metro Manila Development Authority.

In 1995, Bunye was again reelected as Mayor of Muntinlupa for his last three-year term. During his 12-year stewardship, Muntinlupa metamorphosed from a fifth-class municipality into a highly urbanized city. Adopting proven corporate practices that he gained from working in the private sector, Bunye initiated the the computeratization of Muntinlupa, streamlined operations and cut red tape, thus making Muntinlupa City the business-friendly community that it is today. During his watch, Muntinlupa was consistently ranked by the Department of Finance as number one in Metro Manila in terms of realty tax collection efficiency.

He founded the Muntinlupa Polytechnic College, the city’ public college, which has since been converted into the Pamantasang Lungsod ng Muntinlupa. He upgraded the public health centers and also established the city cemetery for Muntinlupa’s poor.

Toward the end of his term as Mayor, Bunye laid the foundation for the establishment of the Ospitalng Muntinlupa through the acquisition of a five-hectare lot within Filinvest Corporate City, which is also the site of the future Civic Center Complex.

Barred by law from seeking a fourth consecutive term as Mayor, Bunye ran for Congress in 1998 and became the first Congressman from the newly-created lone district of Muntinlupa City.

In Congress, Bunye continued to champion the cause of local governments, especially in providing them with greater fiscal autonomy.

Originally a member of the minority, Bunye was one of the fiscalizers of the 11th Congress. With the change of leadership toward the end of the 11th Congress, he became the Senior Deputy Majority Floor Leader of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.

Bunye writes weekly columns for the Manila Bulletin, Tempo, People’s Tonight, Sun Star and Filipino Reporter.

Bunye is the son of former New Bilibid Prisons Director Alfredo M. Bunye, Sr. and Sofia V. Rivera. Bunye’s mother was a pre-war movie actress (Screen Name: Gloria Imperial) whose younger sister Mila del Sol was also a movie darling of her time.

Bunye is married to Miraflor T. Oca, a pediatrician. They have three children: Patricia Angela (Married to Jose Ferdinand Rojas), Alfredo and Frances Myra.

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