17 January 2024, CANBERRA - Representative Stella Luz Quimbo of the 2nd District of Marikina and former Commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission was invited by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to visit Canberra from 15-17 January 2024 and Sydney on 17-19 January 2024 under the Canberra Fellowships Program (CFP).

The CFP was established in 2018 to bring high-caliber emerging leaders from the Indo-Pacific region to Australia. Participants are drawn from the ranks of politics, business, public service, the judiciary, journalism, academia, and other key sectors. Rep. Quimbo is one of five Southeast Asian participants this year.

While in Canberra, Rep. Quimbo met Minister for Trade and Tourism Senator the Hon Don Farrell and Assistant Minister for Competition Hon. Andrew Leigh MP.

She also had engagements with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Productivity Commission, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The Australian National University Philippines Institute hosted Rep. Quimbo. The Congresswoman served as Professor and Department Chair at the University of the Philippines School of Economics where she obtained her BS in economics (summa cum laude), MA in economics and PhD in economics. Her extensive research portfolio covers health economics, industrial organization, microeconomics, education, poverty and public policy and regulation. – END