Dr. Tapales received her Bachelor of Arts major in Philippine Studies and her Master of Public Administration from the University of the Philippines. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Northern Illinois University, U.S.A. She attended a course on local government at the institute of Local Government Studies, University Birmingham, United Kingdom. She was a Director of the Center for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG) at NCPAG.
She started as a researcher at the U.P. College of Public Administration in 1965. Dr. Tapales became assistant Professor in 1975 and full Professor in 1991 before she became the Dean from 1992 to 1995. She was Deputy Director of the University Center for Women’s Studies, and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the U.P. Open University. She has written extensively on local government, public administration, and gender and development. She edited volumes I and II of the Local Government in the Philippines: a Book of Readings.
