Forum Secretariat

Renato Redentor Constantino
Executive Director

Renato Redentor Constantino was recently named the Executive Director of the Forum. Red, as he is known to friends, is a writer and painter, and the author of "The Poverty of Memory: Essays on History and Empire" (CFNS 2006). His essays come out regularly in Philippine dailies and has been translated into several languages.

He worked for seven years with Greenpeace -- as Southeast Asia regional climate campaigner, senior campaign advisor to Greenpeace China, and Asia climate campaign advisor to Greenpeace International. An activist for over two decades, Red's work largely involves peace issues, foreign policy, imperial history, migrant work, poverty, energy, environment, development and human rights. He previously taught undergraduate courses in sociology, Philippine history and development.

Red is also the managing director of the Constantino Foundation. He can be reached at red@forum-adb.org. He maintains a personal blog site at http://redconstantino.blogspot.com


Avilash Roul
Capacity Building Coordinator

Avilash has been writing, advocating, researching and creating knowledge on Environment and Development since 2000. He was a research fellow and an advisor to Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict - a Delhi-based think tank. Earlier, he worked with Down to Earth (magazine published fortnightly from the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi, India). He has been writing for the New Sunday Express, Down to Earth, EcoWorld, SSPC News and other regional newspapers and magazines.

Avilash worked as the Assistant South Asia Regional Coordinator for the Bank Information Center (BIC). Avilash completed his PhD on environmental negotiations, specializing on water security negotiations. His expertise is on multilateral environmental negotiations, poverty and environment, environmental security, climate change, forest and tribal rights, mining, water and conflict, and wildlife. Avilash has immense experience working with and building capacity of various communities on environmental knowledge base.

Avilash can be contacted at avilash@forum-adb.org.


Maya Eralieva
Central Asia Desk Officer

Maya joined the Forum in March 2007. She completed her higher education at the Department of International Relations, Kyrgyz National State University in 2001. She previously worked as trainer-consultant for the program "Advocacy and Lobby through public participation" and coordinated several mission preparation and election observation projects. After the revolution in March 2005 in Kyrgyz Republic, she worked as a secretary for the Constitutional Council initiated by Kyrgyz civil society groups and which was supported by the Kyrgyz Parliament.

She also worked as an assistant coordinator for the Culture Department at the National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO and helped coordinate projects related to natural and cultural heritages.

Maya worked as an assistant to a film director for two documentary films entitled, “Gold Accident’ and “Lost Children.”

Maya can be reached at maya@forum-adb.org.


Charity Cantillo-dela Torre
Finance and Administrative Coordinator

Charity joined Forum in July 2003. She has almost twenty years of experience in social development work. Lala was part of GABRIELA, an umbrella organization of women’s groups from different sectors, from 1991 to 1993. She worked with Kanlungan Center Foundation, Inc., a migrant crisis center, from 1993 to 2000. Lala also had a brief stint with the Philippine Rural and Reconstruction Movement (PRRM).

Lala can be contacted at lcantillo@forum-adb.org.


Angela E. Don
Research and Publication Coordinator

Angela has fifteen years of experience in development work. She used to work in a church-led institution and was part of the evaluation team that assessed projects and programs worthy of funding. She also worked in a non-government entity for almost a decade. Angela has also worked closely with the basic sectors, especially peasants and fisherfolks. In the past, she has co-authored trainers’ and operations manual on cooperatives and rural finance institutions. Angela joined the FORUM Secretariat in February 2007.

Angela can be reached at abby@forum-adb.org.


Patricia Rodulfa-Simon
Executive Assistant

Patricia joined Forum in November 2004. A graduate of BS Accountancy, she assists the Executive Director, as well as the Finance and Admin Coordinator. She also oversees the day-to-day financial transactions of the Secretariat.

Patty can be contacted at produlfa@forum-adb.org.


Heidy Valdez Nicolas
Office Maintenance Staff

Before joining Forum in April 2008, Heidy Nicolas was with the ISIS International for five years. She also worked for the National Irrigation Administration in the province of Isabela as a radio communication operator. Earlier, Heidy worked as food service supervisor/dietician for a number of catering services in Saudi Arabia where she was assigned in hospitals.


Roberto Emilio R. Hernandez
Information and Communication Coordinator

Romil joined the NGO Forum in February 2006. He previously worked as an advocacy officer for CAPP-SIAD, a consortium of non-governmental organizations in the Philippines, which promotes participatory governance. During his two-year stint, he worked closely with local communities, farmers, fisherfolks and indigenous peoples. He has also done policy work with local and national organizations on agrarian reform issues in the Philippines. Earlier, he worked for an evaluation unit of a foreign-assisted development project benefiting agrarian reform communities in the Philippines.

Romil can be reached at romil@forum-adb.org.


J. Ronald D. Masayda
Advocacy and Campaign Coordinator

Prior to joining Forum in July 2006, Ronald co-wrote two guidebooks on ADB's Indigenous Peoples Policy and ADB's operations in Central Asia and Caucasus. He also documented the 2003 Forum Annual Meeting. Previously, he worked as senior public information and media relations officer at the Philippine Senate and the Philippine Tourism Authority, as well as senior account manager in a number of public relations firms. He had a short stint at Kyodo News Service–Manila Bureau as a field correspondent.

Ronald can be reached at ronald@forum-adb.org.


Previous Executive Director (2005-2008)


Hemantha Withanage

Hemantha Withanage has been the Executive Director since April 2005. Previously, he was the elected international convenor of FORUM for the period 2001-2003. He held the Executive Director and the Senior Environmental Scientist positions of the Environmental Foundation, Sri Lanka until December 2003. He founded the Centre for Environmental Justice and the Sri Lankan Working Group on Trade and IFIs in 2004. He has more than 15 years of experience in NGO work in the areas of development work, and networking in local and international field.

Hemantha maintains a personal blog at http://hemanthawithanage.blogspot.com/. He may be reached at hemantha@eureka.lk.