Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo is a Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines, the country’s premier university. He is the former Dean of the University’s School of Labor and Industrial Relations. He served as Undersecretary for Labor Relations of the Department of Labor and Employment in 1997-98, at the height of the Asian financial crisis.

Dr. Ofreneo is one of the leading scholars on labor relations and labor market studies in the Philippines and in the Asia-Pacific. He sits in the editorial board of several international journals. Among his international publications are: Asia and the Pacific: Advancing Decent Work Amidst Deepening Inequalities (Singapore, 2013); and A Toolkit for Labour Law Reform Advocacy (Singapore, 2011).

Dr. Ofreneo is an advocate of sustainable development. His book Green Jobs and Green Skills in a Brown Philippine Economy was published by the International Labor Organization in Geneva in 2010 and by the University of the Philippines Press in 2012. The book was used by the Philippine Senate as reference material in drafting a bill on “Green Jobs” in 2015. The bill was signed into law in March 2016.

Dr. Ofreneo writes a weekly column, “Laborem Exercens”, for Business Mirror, a daily business newspaper. Dr. Ofreneo is President of three Philippine civil society organizations: Freedom from Debt Coalition, Integrated Rural Development Foundation and Philippine Movement for Climate Justice.