Habito was born on 20 April 1953 in
Cabuyao,
Laguna. He studied at the Maquiling School in
Los Baños for grade school, then at the
Philippine Science High School for secondary education. He attended the
University of the Philippines Los Baños for his tertiary education, earning a degree in agriculture, major in
agricultural economics and graduating
summa cum laude. He then attended the
University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, where he earned a Master of Economics degree. He also obtained a
Master of Arts in Economics and a
Doctor of Philosophy in Economics at the
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ==Career==