Data Scientist joins PUBLiCUS
PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc. recently tapped David B. Yap II, Ph.D. to become its Chief Data Scientist.
Yap, 33, a rising star in Philippine econometrics and data science circles, holds a decade of experience in academic research, data analysis, and policy strategy. “Dr. Yap will not only enhance our VOX Opinion Research brand but will also improve our publicly shared survey results under Pahayag which we launched in August 2017. We also plan to do more local government industry mapping as well as modelling studies for the presidential elections in 2022,” according to Tiquia.
Creating the position of Chief Data Scientist in PUBLiCUS follows months of collaborative work with Dr. Yap leading the PUBLiCUS team in serving clients in the 2019 election cycle as well as the geographical surveys of Pahayag. Tiquia stressed, “PUBLiCUS is committed to further the innovations we have started in order to have timely, accurate and actionable survey results for clients to be able to implement smart, data-driven strategies within their respective spheres of influence of our clients.”
“Dr. Yap’s work will empower PUBLiCUS to offer data-driven policy analysis and political strategy services at a level of sophistication and accuracy that does not currently exist in the local market. Our next-generation services are poised to disrupt the Philippine political management and lobbying industry at its very core,” said Tiquia.
Yap served as a senior adviser to Senator Imee Marcos’s 2019 campaign. He played a decisive role in crafting the economic and social welfare in the 2019 elections, including the advocacy to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate. He was also Senior Policy Adviser to Senator Win Gatchalian in 2016. He served as Director for Policy Research of the Office of Senator Win Gatchalian from 2016 until 2018.Yap’s groundbreaking research under Gatchalian on the positive societal impact and fiscal feasibility of free college education paved the way for the passage of the landmark Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
Yap spent four years as an economist and project manager at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). During his tenure, Yap established himself as one of the foremost experts on Philippine political dynasties by formulating the first exhaustive empirical mapping of political dynasties in the country, as well as the first empirical model detailing the relationship between political dynasties and poverty in the Philippines.
Yap has also taught at the University of the Philippines School of Statistics (2008-2011) and the Economics Department of the Ateneo de Manila University (2006-2017). A prolific academic researcher, Yap has published several papers in international and local peer-reviewed journals.
Yap is a graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman (B.S. Statistics magna cum laude, 2008) and the Ateneo de Manila University (M.A. Economics, 2010; PhD. Economics, 2018).
PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc. is the first and only SEC-registered lobbying and campaigns firm based in Manila and servicing the ASEAN region. Founded in 2003, PUBLiCUS’ core competencies are government relations/lobbying, strategic communications, campaigns, competitive intelligence and capacity building.