Debbie Jean I. Centeno-Dijamco is a distinguished legal professional and public servant with over 25 years of experience in taxation, corporate law, and government service. She currently serves as Undersecretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), having assumed office on 5 December 2025.

Prior to joining DepEd, Undersecretary Centeno-Dijamco devoted more than a decade of service to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA). She served as Judicial Staff Head of the Office of the Presiding Justice, supervising its legal and administrative staff, reviewing financial and administrative matters, and conducting research on complex tax controversies. She likewise assisted the Presiding Justice in his work as Chairperson of the PHILJA Academic Council Tax Department and in his functions in various Supreme Court committees.

She also contributed to institutional development within the CTA and PHILJA. She served as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the acquisition by PHILJA of parcels of land owned by the Philippine Judicial Academy Development Center, Inc. She was likewise involved in key CTA committees, including the Technical Working Group on Pleading, Practice, and Procedure, and the Committees on Budget and Finance, Mediation, and Plantilla Review. She further served as Co-Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee tasked to draft the CTA rules on case docketing, raffle, and proceedings for applications for search warrants and seizure orders pursuant to Republic Act No. 12022.

Before entering government service, she spent over 11 years as a tax and corporate lawyer with SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co., a member practice of Ernst & Young, where she rose to Senior Director. Her work covered tax structuring, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, and representation before the CTA and key government agencies. During her tenure at SGV, she also authored tax articles in a major Philippine newspaper, reflecting her engagement in public tax education. She also served as a Board of Trustee of the SGV & Co. Credit Savings and Loan Association (CSLA) from 2007 to 2008.

A graduate of San Beda College of Law (Salutatorian, 1999) and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Santo Tomas, she passed the Bar Examinations given in 1999 and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2000. She completed the 71st Management Development Program of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in 2007, receiving the People Express Grand Slam Award as part of the Best Performing Team in the Management Flight Simulator business simulation.

Undersecretary Centeno-Dijamco conducted lectures for CTA lawyers in 2024 and served as a lecturer at the 2016 ASEAN Tax Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, where she discussed international tax avoidance and transfer pricing.

With deep expertise in governance, judicial work, and public service, Undersecretary Centeno-Dijamco brings to DepEd a strong foundation of integrity, leadership, and dedication to quality education and effective administration in support of the Bagong Pilipinas agenda.