Mr. Taguiwalo served as Undersecretary at the Department of Health in the early years of the Cory Aquino administration, and was the right-hand man of then Secretary Alfredo Bengzon in nearly every major health initiative of that era, including the ground-breaking Generics Act that changed the way doctors prescribed medicines, and the Milk Code, which promoted breastfeeding and introduced reforms in the distribution of infant formula. But his analytical skills were employed by the government on non-health concerns as well, as he was involved in peace strategies and civil service reforms.  He was driven by the need to sweep out corruption from the bureaucracy during the idealistic post-People Power Revolution period. Beyond his government service, he continued his mission of promoting good governance in various roles, including as head of the think tank National Institute for Policy Studies, and was adviser in the Noynoy Aquino campaign in 2009-2010. 

Mr. Taguiwalo was a member of the first batch of scholars at the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) when it opened in 1964. He then went on to the University of the Philippines, where he became a member of the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK). At the height of student activism in 1971, he returned to his home province of Negros Occidental, where he was arrested by the military and detained for several months in a Philippine Constabulary prison. After his release, he enrolled in La Salle, Bacolod, where his artistic side was honed under the tutelage of his good friend Peque Gallaga, with whom he conceptualized the classic period film “Oro, Plata, Mata.” He later appeared in several movies including “Ang Padrino” (1984) and “Pisay” (2007), and also earned a Master’s degree in Economics from UP.