He held several high-ranking government positions such as Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning and concurrently Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), acting Secretary of Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education and President of Social Security System under former President Gloria Arroyo.

in business administration (magna cum laude and class valedictorian), major in marketing, from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1970.

Neri pursued his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), majoring in finance and international management from 1977 to 1979.

He then rose through the ranks and eventually became Director of the Congressional Budget and Planning Office under the Philippine House of Representatives where he provided advice to the leadership of the House on socio-economic issues, particularly on fiscal and monetary policies, development financing, and the budget of the national government.

On 12 November 2021, the Supreme Court of the Philippines convicted him guilty of grave misconduct for his handling of the ZTE scandal by perpetual disqualification from holding public office.