{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Short description|Filipino economist}} {{Philippine name|Tiu|Chua}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Karl Kendrick Chua | image = Sec-Karl-T-Chua-1.jpg | image_size = | caption = | office = 15th Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority<br><small>Concurrently Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning</small> | term_start = June 2, 2021 | term_end = June 30, 2022<br>{{small|April 17, 2020 – June 2, 2021 (Acting)}} | president = Rodrigo Duterte | predecessor = Ernesto Pernia | successor = Arsenio Balisacan | office2 = Undersecretary of the <br>Department of Finance <br>{{small|Strategy, Economics, and Results Group}} | predecessor2 = ''Position created'' | successor2 = Antonio G. Lambino II | term_start2 = September 29, 2016 | term_end2 = April 17, 2020 | president2 = Rodrigo Duterte <!-- personal details --> | birth_name = Karl Kendrick Tiu Chua | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|07|14}}<ref name="inq">{{cite web|url=https://business.inquirer.net/233703/poster-boy-tax-reform |title=Poster boy of tax reform |publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer |author=Pedrasa, I.P. |date=July 23, 2017 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> | birth_place = Metro Manila, Philippines | occupation = {{flatlist| * Government official * researcher * university lecturer }} | profession = Economist | alma_mater = Ateneo de Manila University (B.S.)<br/>University of the Philippines Diliman (M.A. & Ph.D.) | spouse = {{marriage|Alanna Chua|2009}} | children = 1 | website = | footnotes = }} '''Karl Kendrick Tiu Chua'''<ref name="confirmed">{{cite news |last1=Ramos |first1=Christia Marie |title='A nerd with K-pop looks:' NEDA chief Karl Chua breezes through CA |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1440316/a-nerd-with-k-pop-looks-neda-chief-karl-chua-breezes-through-ca |access-date=June 3, 2021 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602070205/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1440316/a-nerd-with-k-pop-looks-neda-chief-karl-chua-breezes-through-ca |archive-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref> ({{zh|c={{linktext|蔡|榮|富}}|p=Cài Róngfù|poj=Chhòâ Êng-hù|s=|t=|first=poj}};<ref name="chinesename">{{cite news | title=總統令新國家經濟發展署長加快實施國家身份證 | trans-title=President Orders New National Economic Development Administrator to Expedite Implementation of National ID Card | url=https://www.shangbao.com.ph/fgyw/2020/04-22/90805.shtml | lang=zh | work=Chinese Commercial News | date=April 22, 2020 | access-date=December 22, 2021}}</ref> born July 14, 1978)<ref name="inq"/> is a Filipino economist who served as the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning under the Duterte administration from 2021 to 2022. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as acting secretary in April 2020, and became the official secretary on June 2, 2021, succeeding Ernesto Pernia.<ref name="cnnph">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/17/NEDA-Ernesto-Pernia-resigns.html |title=DOF's Karl Chua is new NEDA chief as Ernesto Pernia resigns |publisher=CNN Philippines |author=Lopez, M.L. |date=April 17, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020 |archive-date=April 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424034003/https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/17/NEDA-Ernesto-Pernia-resigns.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="official_NEDA">{{cite news |last1=Tamayo |first1=Bernadette E. |title=Karl Chua breezes through CA, is officially NEDA chief |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/02/news/karl-chua-breezes-through-cais-officially-neda-chief/1801628 |access-date=June 3, 2021 |work=The Manila Times |date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602081909/https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/02/news/karl-chua-breezes-through-cais-officially-neda-chief/1801628 |archive-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref> A former World Bank senior economist, he previously served as an undersecretary of the Department of Finance.<ref name="rappler">{{cite web|url=https://www.rappler.com/business/258267-things-to-know-karl-chua-neda-acting-secretary/ |title=Who is Karl Chua, NEDA's new acting secretary? |publisher=Rappler |author=Rivas, R. |date=April 17, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref><ref name="philstar">{{cite web|url=https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/04/17/2007936/neda-chief-pernia-resigns-dofs-tax-reform-poster-boy-named-replacement |title=NEDA chief Pernia resigns; DOF's tax reform 'poster boy' named replacement |publisher=The Philippine Star |author=Cigaral, I.N. |date=April 17, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Chua was born to a Chinese Filipino family on July 14, 1978.<ref name="inq"/><ref name="philgraphic">{{cite web|url=https://philippinesgraphic.net/ |title=Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua: Pushing for tax reform through gentle persuasion |publisher=Philippines Graphic |author=Mendoza, P.R. |date=September 11, 2017 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> He was raised in Manila where he attended Xavier School in San Juan and graduated high school in 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bworldonline.com/xxx/ |title=XXX |publisher=BusinessWorld |author=Sta. Ana, F.S. |date=December 4, 2017 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> While in high school, he participated in outreach programs in the Correctional Institution for Women, Payatas and Barasoain in San Juan where he also taught Catechism, English and mathematics to urban poor children.<ref name="philgraphic"/>
He attended the Ateneo de Manila University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Engineering in 2000.<ref name="inq"/><ref name="neda">{{cite web |url=http://www.neda.gov.ph/secretarys-corner/ |title=Secretary's Corner |publisher=National Economic and Development Authority |access-date=May 23, 2020 |archive-date=May 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531225030/http://www.neda.gov.ph/secretarys-corner/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He later enrolled at the University of the Philippines Diliman, graduating from the U.P. School of Economics in 2003 with a Master of Economics. In 2011, Chua received Doctor of Philosophy in the same discipline also from U.P. where he served as research assistant to professors Solita Monsod, Felipe Medalla and Benjamin Diokno for a study on the country's slowing economy in 2005 which resulted in the implementation of an expanded value-added tax in the country.<ref name="inq"/>
==Career== Chua started his career as a system analyst with Accenture (Andersen Consulting) from 2000 to 2002.<ref name="rappler"/> In 2004, he started teaching mathematics and economics at his alma mater, Ateneo de Manila, a year after completing his M.Ec. at U.P. He was then hired as a research analyst for the World Bank Group in 2005 and resigned from his teaching job when he was promoted as its country economist for the Philippines in 2008.<ref name="neda"/> As an economist for World Bank, Chua spent a year and half in different places in Mindanao, including Marawi and Tawi-Tawi, where he led a team of researchers conducting a comprehensive jobs report on the impoverished island region.<ref name="inq"/> He served as a World Bank senior economist from 2012 until his resignation to join government service in September 2016.<ref name="neda"/>
Chua was sworn in as Undersecretary for the Strategy, Economics and Results Group of the Department of Finance on September 29, 2016. As Finance undersecretary, he served as strategic adviser to Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and President Duterte's cabinet economic development cluster.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/09/29/public-finance-luminaries-join-dof/ |title=Public finance luminaries join DOF |publisher=BusinessMirror |author=Cu, R. |date=September 29, 2016 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> In 2017, Chua was frequently seen participating in congressional deliberations on the administration's comprehensive tax reform bill which aimed to decrease personal income taxes and introduce higher consumption taxes to support the government's ''Build! Build! Build'' program. He was described as the "poster boy of tax reform" by several media outlets and was instrumental in the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN Act) in December 2017.<ref name="philstar"/><ref name="inq"/>
Chua also served as the administration's point person in Congress for its second tax reform agenda to lower corporate income taxes in the country in 2019. Initially named the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA), the bill aimed to decrease corporate taxes from 30 to 20 percent to encourage job creation while transforming the incentive program into performance-based incentives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://manilastandard.net/mobile/article/306264 |title=CITIRA bill expected to generate 1.5 million new jobs—DOF official |publisher=Manila Standard |author=Rada, J.G. |date=September 30, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> He is also credited for the passage of legislations increasing the sin tax on tobacco and alcohol products and introducing a sugary drink tax and excise taxes on electronic cigarettes and vapes to fund the universal health care program signed into law in February 2019.<ref name="neda"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://business.inquirer.net/290994/sin-tax-collections-seen-reaching-p480b-by-2024 |title="Sin" tax collections seen reaching P480B by 2024 |publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer |author=de Vera, B.O. |date=February 21, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> On April 17, 2020, following President Duterte's acceptance of National Economic and Development Authority secretary Ernesto Pernia's resignation due to "personal reasons" and "differences in development philosophy" with some Cabinet members as the country battled the COVID-19 pandemic, Chua was appointed as the agency's acting secretary.<ref name="cnnph"/>
As socioeconomic secretary, Chua was tasked to formulate the country's economic recovery measures and a "new normal" plan following the financial shocks caused by the COVID-19 crisis in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/19/2008251/acting-neda-chief-tasked-present-new-normal-plan |title=Acting NEDA chief tasked to present 'new normal' plan |publisher=The Philippine Star |author=Mendez, C. |date=April 19, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> In May 2020, he reintroduced a modified corporate tax reform bill as one such measure under the post-COVID-19 Philippine Program for Recovery with Equity.<ref name="bmirror">{{cite web|url=https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/05/13/citira-now-create-cuts-cit-to-25-means-p259-billion-in-revenue-loss-till-2022/ |title=Citira, now CREATE, cuts CIT to 25%; means P259 billion in revenue loss till 2022 |publisher=BusinessMirror |author=de la Cruz, J.M. |date=May 13, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref> Under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) which replaced the earlier CITIRA, corporate income taxes will be reduced to 25 percent in the short term to spur economic activity in the aftermath of the pandemic. Chua also announced that the ''Balik Probinsya'' program or relocation of businesses and workers to provinces outside Metro Manila is included in the new tax incentives package, and that the government was considering levying taxes on digital goods and introducing a new sin tax as new revenue sources.<ref name="bmirror"/> He also announced the full implementation of the Philippine national identity cards as an agency priority.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://business.mb.com.ph/2020/04/22/id-system-tops-neda-chiefs-priorities/ |title=ID system tops NEDA chief's priorities |publisher=Manila Bulletin |author=Leyco, C.S. |date=April 23, 2020 |access-date=May 23, 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
President Duterte appointed Chua as the official Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning and the Director-General of NEDA on April 22, 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Valente |first1=Catherine S. |title=Duterte appoints Karl Chua as NEDA chief |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/04/22/news/duterte-appoints-karl-chua-as-neda-chief/866568 |access-date=June 3, 2021 |work=The Manila Times |date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423021123/https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/04/22/news/duterte-appoints-karl-chua-as-neda-chief/866568/ |archive-date=April 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ranada |first1=Pia |title=Karl Chua no longer just acting NEDA chief |url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/karl-chua-appointed-neda-secretary/ |access-date=June 3, 2021 |work=Rappler |date=April 22, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422113424/https://www.rappler.com/nation/karl-chua-appointed-neda-secretary |archive-date=April 22, 2021}}</ref> His nomination was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on June 2, making him the youngest secretary in the Duterte Cabinet.<ref name="confirmed" /><ref name="official_NEDA" />
==Personal life== Chua is married to Alanna Chua, whom he met in 2001 through the Ateneo Christian Life Community, of which they were both members. They wed on November 28, 2009.<ref name="philgraphic"/> They have one son together, Keid Ashby, born in 2015.<ref name="inq"/>
==Awards== Chua is a recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Young Men and Women of the Philippines (TOYM) Award in the field of Economic Development.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bworldonline.com/jci-names-11-toym-2018-honorees/ |title=JCI names 11 TOYM 2018 honorees |publisher=BusinessWorld |author=Soliman, M.P. |date=January 10, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Ernesto Pernia}} {{s-ttl|title=Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority<br><small>Concurrently Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning</small>|years=2020–2022}} {{s-aft|after=Arsenio Balisacan}} {{s-end}}
{{Duterte Cabinet}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chua, Karl}} Category:1978 births Category:21st-century Filipino economists Category:Living people Category:Directors-general of the National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines Category:People from Pasig Category:Filipino people of Chinese descent Category:Ateneo de Manila University alumni Category:Academic staff of Ateneo de Manila University Category:University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Category:World Bank Group people Category:Duterte administration cabinet members