Ernesto Abella

Ernesto "Ernie" Corpus Abella (born March 22, 1950 ) is a Filipino businessman, writer and former evangelist who served in the Duterte administration as Presidential Spokesperson (2016–2017) and Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research of the Department of Foreign Affairs (2017–2021). He ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.

Before joining the government, he was an executive with a Davao City-based agricultural products manufacturer and a local cooperative which he co-founded. He also established a school in Davao and was a columnist for local newspaper SunStar Davao.

Education Abella finished high school at Ateneo de Davao University in 1964. In 1968, he graduated with a BA in pre-medicine from the same university. In 1980, he pursued his postgraduate studies at Silliman University where he graduated with a master's degree in divinity in 1984. He also earned a master's degree in social development from the Asian Institute of Management in 2005. Abella was subsequently appointed as Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research at the Department of Foreign Affairs on October 27, 2017, until he resigned on October 8, 2021, to file his candidacy for president of the Philippines.