Arsenio M. Balisacan is the Secretary of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), formerly the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), where he has served as head under two administrations.

As DEPDev Secretary, he serves as the country’s Chief Economist, advising the President and the Cabinet on economic and social development matters and coordinating policy, planning, monitoring, and evaluation at the national and sub-national levels.

In an ex-officio capacity, he chairs the governing boards of key national government agencies, including the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, the Public-Private Partnership Center, the Development Academy of the Philippines, the Commission on Population and Development, and the Philippine Center for Economic Development. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the Economy and Development Council and the National Innovation Council, chaired by the President.

Before rejoining the Cabinet in 2022, he was the founding Chairperson of the Philippine Competition Commission (2016–2022), where he guided the establishment of a modern competition enforcement regime to promote fair market competition, protect consumer welfare, and advance economic development.

He has taught at the University of the Philippines for over 30 years, serving as Dean of the School of Economics before his 2012 appointment as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director-General. He was also seconded to lead the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and served as Undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture.

Earlier in his career, he was a research fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and an economist at the World Bank in Washington, DC.

He has served as President of various professional organizations, including the Philippine Economic Society and the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists, and on advisory boards and councils across the Asia-Pacific.

Outside government, he has served as a consultant and advisor to major development agencies and multilateral bodies, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, OECD, ASEAN, and several United Nations agencies.

As an academic, he has authored or co-edited ten books and published nearly 100 scholarly papers and book chapters on development issues, focusing on the Philippines and Asia. His notable books include Designing Competition Policy for Economic Development in Asia and the Pacific (ADBI & ADB), Sustainable Economic Development: Resources, Environment, and Institutions (Academic Press), The Dynamics of Regional Development: The Philippines in East Asia (Edward Elgar), The Philippine Economy: Development, Policies, and Institutions (Oxford University Press), and Reasserting the Rural Development Agenda: Lessons Learned and Emerging Challenges in Asia (ISEAS & SEARCA).

In recognition of his service and contributions to economics and public policy, he has received numerous honors, including the lifelong title of Academician from the National Academy of Science and Technology, the Most Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association, and distinguished alumni awards from the East-West Center and the University of Hawaii. He is also a Lifelong Honorary Member of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists.

He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Hawaii, an MS in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and a BS in Agriculture (magna cum laude) from the Mariano Marcos State University.

Outside of his professional pursuits, he is an avid runner who has completed major international marathons (42 km), including those in Berlin, Chicago, New York (v), Vancouver, Paris, and Honolulu.