Who is Ricardo Blancaflor, GSIS acting chairman?

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Ricardo Blancaflor previously served as director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran lawyer Ricardo “Ric” Blancaflor has officially assumed the role of acting chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), replacing Rodolfo del Rosario Jr.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go administered the oath of office at the Department of Finance (DOF) headquarters on Tuesday, June 9.

Blancaflor’s appointment comes as the state pension fund faces a massive investment scandal and a push for the fund’s sustainability.

“As acting chair, he will guide GSIS in strengthening fund sustainability, enhancing member services, and advancing its mandate of providing responsive and reliable social insurance benefits to government employees and pensioners,” the DOF said in a statement.

In October 2025, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he was reviewing calls to replace GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso and other top executives over supposed anomalous investments in Alternergy Holdings Corporation and gaming giant DigiPlus. Veloso has since said that the GSIS will dispose of its stake in both firms once the market improves.

Blancaflor is widely recognized for his previous tenure as director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines in 2010. During this time, IPOPHL was completely delisted from the United States Trade Representative’s Special 301 Watchlist, a report which identifies trading partners of the US that fail to adequately protect intellectual property rights.

He also spearheaded the country’s accession to the Madrid Protocol, a treaty which allows trademark owners to secure protection across 120 countries through a single application.

Prior to his time at IPOPHL, Blancaflor served as an undersecretary at the Department of Justice where he chaired the anti-trafficking council.

During the Arroyo administration, Blancaflor also served as a defense undersecretary and spokesperson of the Anti-Terrorism Council. – Rappler.com