Fortunato de la Peña

Fortunato "Boy" Tanseco de la Peña (born November 12, 1949) is a Filipino engineer and professor who served as the Secretary of Science and Technology in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2022. Before he assumed leadership of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), he was the Undersecretary for Scientific and Technological Services from 2001 to 2014. Except for his brief retirement from 2014 to 2016, he has been with the department since 1982. and is also a former chairman of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

Early life and education De la Peña was born in the municipality of Bulacan, Bulacan on November 12, 1949. He is the youngest of three children of Emilio Banzon de la Peña and Luz Fajardo Tanseco. He also earned his MS degree in industrial engineering and a Ph.D. in business administration from the same university in 1976. In 1992, he was appointed as director of UP's Institute for Small Scale Industries and as vice president for planning and development of the entire University of the Philippines System by 1993. He served in those capacities until 2001 and 1999 respectively.

De la Peña served in the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) as executive director in 2008. He also helped organize the National Innovation Network (Filipinnovation) and served as its co-chairman in 2008. In 2011, he was elected chairman of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD).

De la Peña has also served as president of the Philippine Institute for Chemical Engineers and the Association of Management and Industrial Engineers of the Philippines. He also headed the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation, and NEC Foundation. He is also a former director of Entrepinoy Volunteers Foundation and Philippine Technology Development Ventures. As head of the Learning from Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) Research to Enhance Policymaking in the Philippines project of the DOST and International Development Research Centre, he co-edited and published the book entitled Philippine Experiences in ICT4D.

Personal life De la Peña is married to Mariquit Tablan Banzon, with whom he has five children: Margarita, a medical doctor; Emil, a veterinary doctor; Fortunato Jr., an assistant professor of industrial design; Miguel, an artist, musician and entrepreneur; and Federico, an engineering geologist.