13 Facts About Mercedes Concepcion

Mercedes B Concepcion was born on June 10,1928 and is a Filipino social scientist who was named a National Scientist of the Philippines in 2010.

Mercedes Concepcion is currently the Vice President of the Executive Council of the National Academy of Science and Technology and is a Trustee for both the Philippine Center for Population and Development and Foundation for Adolescent Development, among several other roles.

Mercedes Concepcion earned her bachelor's degree in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines in 1951.

Shortly following her studies at the University of Sydney, Mercedes Concepcion returned to the Philippines in 1955 to become first Filipino staff member of the United Nations Statistical Training Centre at the University of the Philippines.

Mercedes Concepcion was member and chairperson of the Preparatory Committees for the Asian Population Conferences of 1963,1972,1984, and 1994.

Mercedes Concepcion worked with the Vatican as one of the two Asian members of the Birth Control Commission in 1964.

Mercedes Concepcion became the first Director of the newly established UP Population Institute in 1964.

Mercedes Concepcion chaired the Steering Committee on the Social and Psychological Determinants of Fertility Regulation of the World Health Organization.

In 1986, Mercedes Concepcion chaired the Committee to Review the Philippine Statistical System.

Mercedes Concepcion's reviews led to the creation of the National Statistical Coordination Board as well as the reorganization of agencies such as the National Statistics Office, Statistical Research and Training Center, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, and Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics.

Mercedes Concepcion was one of the founding members of the Philippine Social Science Council and served as its first chairperson.

Mercedes Concepcion remains an active member of the Philippine Sociological Society, Philippine Statistical Association, and Philippine Population Association.

In 2002, Mercedes Concepcion was named the "First Filipino Demographer" by the Philippine American Foundation.