She completed a degree in Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Economics at St. Louis University in Baguio City. She has an MBA from Lyceum of the Philippines University and earned a Ph.D in Human Resource Management at the University of Santo Tomas in 2009. She also took an Advanced Banking Course at the Asian Institute of Management in year 2000.
Ms. Tiongson started her banking career in the late 1970’s as Money Market Trader at Pacific Banking Corporation. She joined Banco de Oro (BDO) as Manager from 1983 to 1991 then moved to Land Bank as Branch Manager until she retired as Senior Vice President in 2015. She taught at the UST Graduate School from 2010 to 2023. She is also an Independent Director of SEABANK Philippines since January 2024.