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Philippines A-list 2021 banner-01

Based on research conducted by Asia Business Law Journal, the following are the Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers. Biographies and contact details, where provided, were written by the lawyers themselves and have not been independently verified.

Click here to read the editorial report that accompanies the A-List.

Abuda Cornelio Abuda Asis Associates-01 Cornelio Abuda
Abuda Asis & Associates
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; infrastructure; power & energy; project finance; securitisation & structured finance

Acosta Franchette Villaraza & Angangco-02 Franchette Acosta
Villaraza & Angangco
Key practice areas: Corporate law; M&A; foreign investments; government contracts; securities regulation

Angangco Raoul Villaraza & Angangco-03 Raoul Angangco
Villaraza & Angangco
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; infrastructure; M&A; power & energy; real estate

Bautista Mario Luza Poblador Bautista & Reyes-04 Mario Luza Bautista
Poblador Bautista & Reyes
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; insurance & reinsurance; labour & employment; litigation

Benemerito-Castillo Sonya Margarita Kapunan & Castillo-05 Sonya Margarita Benemerito-Castillo
Kapunan & Castillo
Key practice areas: General litigation; civil & family law; criminal law; immigration; IP

Ramil Bugayong PJS Law-06 Ramil Bugayong
PJS Law
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; capital markets; infrastructure; project finance; securitisation & structured finance

Patricia Bunye Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia-07 Patricia Bunye
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Tel: +632 8810 5858
Email: po.bunye@cruzmarcelo.com
Key practice areas: Mining & natural resources; energy; IP; corporate & special projects
Patricia Bunye heads Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia’s mining & natural resources department and energy practice group, and is also a partner in the IP department.

Her IP practice is focused on trademarks and IP commercialisation, including licensing and franchising, and the registration of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products with the Food & Drug Administration.

She was the president of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI), a worldwide professional organisation advancing the business of IP globally, from 2016-2017, and was the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to hold this position. In 2020, she received the LESI’s Award of Achievement, which is conferred to the LESI members who have made lasting contributions to LESI and the licensing profession.

She has spoken in many countries and written in many publications on IP licensing in the Philippines, including the Philippines chapter of “International Licensing and Technology Transfer: Practice and the Law”.

She is a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors and the chairman of the Good Governance Committee of the Makati Business Club.

Danny Bunyi DivinaLaw-08 Danny Bunyi
DivinaLaw
Tel: +632 8822 0808
Email: danny.bunyi@divinalaw.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & special projects; tax & estate planning; e-commerce & technology
Danny Bunyi is a senior partner at DivinaLaw with 31 years of legal experience in a wide range of areas including corporate law, banking and finance, M&As, cross-border transactions, as well as commercial contract drafting and review.

Prior to joining DivinaLaw, Danny was senior vice president and corporate secretary for the Development Bank of the Philippines, one of the largest government-owned banks in the country.

His work in servicing the firm’s clients has led to multiple awards in areas of banking and finance, corporate and commercial law, private equity and venture capital. He was recognised as a commended external counsel of the year (2019) by In-House Community and is among the 10 highly recommended lawyers named in the inaugural list of Asian Legal Business (ALB) Philippines client choice lawyers (2021).He is also a lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University John Gokongwei School of Management where he teaches corporation and partnerships law. He also teaches history and administration of trusts, donations, and wills and succession at the Trust Institute Foundation of the Philippines. He obtained his bachelor of science in business management major in legal management degree and bachelor of laws degree from Ateneo de Manila University.

Pedro Carbonell Ortega Bacorro Odulio Calma & Carbonell-09 Pedro Carbonell
Ortega Bacorro Odulio Calma & Carbonell
Key practice areas: Admiralty; civil & criminal litigation; labour & employement

Maria Raquel Chavez PJS Law-10 Maria Raquel Chavez
PJS Law
Key practice areas: Banking, finance & capital markets; energy; corporate & commercial

Kenneth Chua Quisumbing Torres-11 Kenneth Chua
Quisumbing Torres
Key practice areas: Employment & compensation; employment aspects of M&A; managing business change & disruption; pensions; employment litigation

Avelino Cruz ACCRALAW-12 Avelino Cruz
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: Administrative law & regulatory practice; appellate practice; corporate; energy; international law; investment; M&A

Avelino Cruz Jr Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia-13 Avelino Cruz Jr
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Tel: +632 8810 5858
Email: aj.cruz@cruzmarcelo.com
Key practice areas: Commercial litigation; commercial law; infrastructure; investment banking; administrative law
Avelino Cruz Jr is a senior partner specializing in commercial litigation, corporate and commercial law, infrastructure projects, and administrative law. He previously served as secretary of the Department of National Defence, where he brought a fresh civilian perspective to address the challenges faced by our country’s defence and military establishments. He was widely credited for introducing fundamental, comprehensive, and institution-wide reforms through the Philippine Defence Reform program. His unblemished stint in public service and record of success in the defence department have become benchmarks upon which others who followed have been measured. Some of the groundbreaking reform initiatives started by his leadership have become the foundation of wide-ranging public sector reforms currently being undertaken.

He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1991 and was bar examiner in commercial law in the 1995 Philippine Bar Examinations. Cruz served as president of the Philippine Bar Association. He is also a member of prestigious international lawyers’ organizations, such as the Asean Law Association, International Bar Association, Inter-Pacific Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Association. In 2003, he was conferred a doctor of laws degree honoris causa by the Baguio Colleges Foundation.

Cruz graduated cum laude and salutatorian from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1977 and placed 7th in the bar examinations. As a student leader during martial law, he served as president of the University of the Philippines Law Student Government and the Student Council of the Ateneo de Manila University, where he earned his bachelor of science degree in mathematics.

Emerico De Guzman ACCRALAW-14 Emerico De Guzman
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: Appellate practice; business process outsourcing; labour and employment; white-collar crime

Hector De Leon SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-15 Hector De Leon Jr
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Corporate/M&A; projects, infrastructure and energy; finance; tax

Gabriel Dee Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos-16 Gabriel Dee
Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos
Key practice areas: Capital markets; M&A; banking; corporate law; taxation

Cynthia Roxas-Del Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles-17 Cynthia Del Castillo
Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles
Key practice areas: Capital markets; corporate & commercial; joint ventures; M&A; private equity, venture capital & funds

Ruben Del Rosario Del Rosario & Del Rosario-18 Ruben Del Rosario
Del Rosario & Del Rosario
Tel: +632 8810 1791/5317 7888
Email: ruben.delrosario@delrosariolaw.com
Key practice areas: Shipping & maritime; labour & employment; insurance & reinsurance; dispute resolution & arbitration; transportation & logistics
Ruben Del Rosario has extensive experience in maritime litigation, including dry and wet work, personal injury, labour, insurance, multimodal transport and arbitration. He is managing partner of Del Rosario & Del Rosario, which has won yearly accolades as the best maritime law firm in the Philippines. The firm and its affiliate, Del Rosario Pandiphil, represents practically all of the protection and indemnity clubs, marine insurers and all types of shipping companies. The firm has handled most of the major maritime casualties in the Philippines and abroad when Filipino seafarers are involved. Ruben has been called upon to give expert testimony in a number of cases abroad involving Filipino crew.

Ruben was a member of the tripartite committee that drafted the original 2000 Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Overseas Employment Contract. His immensely popular “Primer on the POEA Standard Employment Contract” has been updated and reprinted twelve times from 2000 to 2018. His “Philippine Shipping Update”, which has a readership of almost 3,000, has been published regularly from 1999 to the present. For almost 20 years, this newsletter has updated the shipping industry on all significant maritime developments. He is also a long-time member of the board of editors of the prestigious Maritime Risk International.

Ruben has long been recognised as a leading authority in maritime and admiralty law. He has been consistently named in Asia Business Law Journal’s top 100 lawyers in the Philippines and other various legal organisations. He is an accredited maritime arbitrator and founded the Philippine Maritime Voluntary Arbitrators Association. He has been president of various maritime, legal and civic organisations. He has lectured on maritime issues at various international conferences in the Philippines and abroad.

Ruben has a law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and a master in business administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US. He has a bachelor’s degree in social science and finance from De La Salle University. He has attended various shipping courses, including those at the University of Southampton, UK.

Arturo Del Rosario Del Rosario & Del Rosario-19 Arturo Del Rosario Jr
Del Rosario & Del Rosario
Tel: +632 8810 1791 loc 849
Email: arturo.delrosario@delrosariolaw.com
Key practice areas: IP; shipping & admiralty; labour & employment
Arturo Del Rosario Jr, (nickname “Johnny”), was admitted to the practice of law in 1975, Philippines. He has been managing partner of Del Rosario & Del Rosario since its inception in 1977. He is heavily involved in general maritime litigation arising from marine casualties, crew claims, collisions, cargo claims, dock damage, oil pollution, and arrests. He has handled high profile matters in intellectual property practice covering trademark and patent applications and disputes.

Education: San Beda College (Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, cum laude, 1970); University of the Philippines (LLB, 1974); 1976 Richards Hogg International Seminar, London; University of Southampton, England (Maritime Law Course 1987).

Professional: President (2015-17) IPAP, led the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines composed of top IP practitioners in various IP conventions locally and abroad; President (2008), Philippine Bar Association (PBA), the largest and longest running voluntary association of lawyers in the Philippines; President (1996-97) and Chairman (1997-98), Maritime Law Association of the Philippines (MARLAW); Certified Court of Appeals Mediator; Named as one of the Top 100 Lawyers of the Philippines in 2018; Awardee of The Philippine Cancer Society’s 2016 Exemplary Men of Influence.

Membership: Council Member, Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA): International Association for the Protection of Industrial Property (AIPPI).

Enrique Dela Cruz Jr DivinaLaw-20 Enrique Dela Cruz Jr
DivinaLaw
Tel: +632 822 0808
Email: enrique.delacruz@divinalaw.com
Key practice areas: Civil, criminal & commercial litigation; election laws; local government &taxation; government contracts & regulations; international commercial arbitration
Enrique Dela Cruz Jr is a senior partner and data protection officer at Divina Law. He is also the head of the firm’s arbitration practice, data privacy, IP and fintech group. He has 20 years of experience in litigation, arbitration, public-private partnership contracts, and election law practice. He is currently a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) — Asia Users Council, and the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

He graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila with a degree in AB Legal Management (cum laude) in 1996, and bachelor of laws (with honours) in 2000. In 2001 he earned a master in public management from the Ateneo School of Government in Manila. In 2002, he completed an executive program on leadership and public policy at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In May 2005, he obtained his master of laws (LLM) in international and comparative business law (with distinction) from the London Metropolitan University in the UK, as a Chevening Scholar of the British Council. He also completed a single master course in international trade from the University College London in the UK. In March 2020, he was awarded a fintech certification by Harvard University, US.

Currently, he teaches law at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and the Bulacan State University – College of Law. He is also a lecturer at the University of the Philippines (UP) Centre for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG). He is also a lecturer at the Bar Review Institute of the UP Law Centre and a member of its committee of experts in political law.

He is an incumbent municipal councillor of Baliwag in the province of Bulacan and was previously a board member of Bulacan from 2010 to 2019. He was the former president of the National Movement of Young Legislators of the Philippines, and national treasurer of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines. In 2020, he was recognised as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines by Asia Business Law Journal.

Monalisa Dimalanta PJS Law-21 Monalisa Dimalanta
PJS Law
Key practice areas: Compliance; corporate & commercial; M&A; power & energy; policy advisory

Ronald Dime Dime & Eviota-22 Ronald Dime
Dime & Eviota
Tel: +632 727 6556
Email: ronalddime@dldtelaw.com
Key practice areas: Energy environmental law; transportation & infrastructure; commercial law; litigation & disputes
Ronald Dime believes that his mission as managing partner of Dime & Eviota is simple: to bring lawyering back to a deeply personal conversation between the client and the lawyer. His lean organization is tailormade for this purpose and each lawyer is committed to the philosophy.

Client and partner testimony reveal that Ron’s unique approach works to deliver not only consistently excellent work throughout the process but genuinely meaningful results. The firm is not a “do everything” firm but it prides itself on doing what it does (ie, energy, infrastructure, transportation, disputes and commercial transactions) very well.

Ron is a product of the College of Law of the University of the Philippines, the country’s flagship law school. He was elected class president for four years, graduated among the top percentile of his class in 1996, and was an editor of the prestigious UP Law Journal.

Afterwards, he litigated a range of high-profile cases at one of the older law offices. He left sometime in 2002 but not before receiving what he considers a fantastic compliment from opposing counsel. The lawyer who had taken over the case after Ron’s resignation had overheard the opponent consoling his witness with the information that it would no longer be Ron Dime that was going to conduct cross examination.

Several years later, he formed Dime & Eviota. He has co-developed clean power projects, helped build roads, schools and airports, brought water to towns and constantly strives to innovate in terms of legal solutions. He also continues to fight for the meek, taking on public interest cases pro bono.

Ron teaches environmental law in a local law school and coaches the debate team. He has also recently co-founded the Energy Lawyers Association of the Philippines.

Ron is happily married and completely in love with his wife of 16 years–a corporate superstar in her own right. He has two daughters who have him wrapped around their fingers. He also likes to travel, box, play tennis and sing show tunes in private. He is currently teaching himself French and Japanese.

JJ Disini Disini & Disini-23 JJ Disini
Disini & Disini
Key practice areas: E-commerce; TMT, data privacy & security, fintech; litigation; IP

Nilo Divina DivinaLaw-24 Nilo Divina
DivinaLaw
Tel: +632 8822 0808
Email: nilo.divina@divinalaw.com
Key practice areas: Corporate, criminal, and civil litigation; ADR; estates and trusts; immigration; labour and employment
Nilo Divina is a seasoned corporate and banking lawyer with 31 years of experience in the industry. He established DivinaLaw in 2006 and has led the aggressive growth of the firm in a short span of time, making it one of the biggest law firms in the country today. Before he entered private law practice, Nilo was the former executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of one of the former leading banks in the Philippines. He also served as the general manager, executive adviser to the board, and corporate secretary of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Nilo is the personal lawyer of some of the country’s prominent personalities in finance and business. Nilo is equally active with his roles in the academe, serving as the dean of the faculty of civil law of the University of Santo Tomas since 2009 and teaching in the University of the Philippines College of Law. He is likewise recognised in the Philippines as one of the top experts in commercial law and is a sought-after bar reviewer and legal consultant.

Nilo has authored five books in commercial law that are considered as primary resource material for law students and lawyers alike. He has received numerous awards and citations as an academician, practising lawyer, and managing partner. DivinaLaw has similarly received various awards and distinctions because of Nilo’s pioneering ways of managing a law firm and the firm’s brand of dynamic lawyering. This year, he was among the 10 highly recommended lawyers in the inaugural list of Asian Legal Business (ALB) Philippines Client Choice Lawyers. Since 2018, Nilo has consistently been named among the top 100 lawyers in the Philippines by Asia Business Law Journal.

Nilo holds a post-graduate diploma in international tax law from the Robert Kennedy College in Switzerland. He obtained his bachelor of law from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law where he graduated magna cum laude and class valedictorian. He has a bachelor of arts in behavioral science from the University of Santo Tomas where he graduated cum laude.

Benedicta Du-Baladad Du-Baladad and Associates-25 Benedicta Du-Baladad
Du-Baladad and Associates
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; capital markets; litigation; taxation

Leslie Dy SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-26 Leslie Dy
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Employment law; arbitration & litigation; corporate services, M&A; data privacy; family law

Estrella Elamparo DivinaLaw-27 Estrella Elamparo
DivinaLaw
Tel: +632 8822 0808
Email: estrella.elamparo@divinalaw.com
Key practice areas: Litigation; arbitration & dispute resolution; crisis management & communications
Estrella Elamparo is a seasoned litigator with more than 25 years of experience in various areas of litigation and has handled many high-profile cases. In the early years of her practice, she was appointed public prosecutor in Manila and became a state prosecutor with the department of justice.

She had worked in various law firms and was appointed general counsel of the biggest government financial institution in the country, the Government Service Insurance System, in 2006 during what many believed was a tumultuous time for the government agency. There, she further honed her public relations and crisis management skills, aided by her journalism and communications background.

At DivinaLaw, she heads the firm’s commercial and criminal litigation, as well as established the firm’s crisis management and communications department. She also pioneered the firm’s legal education and policy advocacy practice in recognition of the fact that many of the clients’ problems cannot just be addressed by litigation but sometimes call for a change in legislation or government regulation. Given her background, she is often designated as spokesperson by the firm’s clients.

Elamparo secured her journalism and law degrees from the University of the Philippines and master’s degree in healthcare ethics and law from the University of Manchester, UK, through a Chevening Scholarship.

She has reaped several awards, foremost of which is the very first Woman Lawyer of the Year (2017) of the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Southeast Asia Law Awards. In 2020, she was recognised as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines by Asia Business Law Journal.

Ramon Esguerra Esguerra & Blanco-28 Ramon Esguerra
Esguerra & Blanco
Tel: +632 8840 3413 to 15
Email: mon.esguerra@bleslaw.com
Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery; corporate & commercial; intellectual property; litigation; criminal law
Ramon Esguerra has led Esguerra & Blanco since he co-founded the firm in 2004. He has received numerous accolades for his expertise in litigation, criminal law and IP law. According to clients, Esguerra is outstanding at providing pragmatic solutions and is always customer-focused, without sacrificing integrity and soundness of legal advice and opinions.

Esguerra served as undersecretary of the Department of Justice from 1992 to 1995. He is a professor of criminal law, remedial law and IP in various law schools in the Philippines and has been invited to lecture on these subjects in various bar review centres and Mandatory Continuing Legal Education programmes. He was also a member of committees formed by the Supreme Court to revise various rules of procedure, such as the “2019 Proposed Amendments to the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure” and “2020 Revised Rules of Procedure for Intellectual Property Cases.” He actively supports the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and other professional associations as officer, adviser and/or director, including the Licensing Executives Society of the Philippines and the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines. He is likewise a trained arbitrator of the Philippine Dispute Resolution.

Mila Federis Federis-29 Mila Federis
Federis
Tel: +632 889 6197
Email: mfederis@federislaw.com.ph
Key practice areas: IP prosecution; IP litigation; IP enforcement; licensing; franchising
Mila Federis is co-founder and managing partner of Federis & Associates, a boutique IP firm in the Philippines. The firm has been the top trademark filer in the Philippines for the last 12 years. Federis leads the firm’s very active litigation team, winning notable cases for Philips, Yahoo!, Bridgestone, Chanel, Philip morris, among others.

Federis works with clients from a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, hotels, electronics, telecommunications and IT. She counsels clients in trademark portfolio management, trademark filing strategy, among others.

Federis obtained degrees in bachelor of science in zoology and bachelor of laws from the University of the Philippines. After her initial experience working in a law firm in the Philippines, she went to the US and worked for two law firms for seven years, where she gained experience in trademark filing and prosecution at the US Patents & Trademarks Office (USPTO). There she managed clients’ foreign filing programmes and supervised inter partes cases filed in different jurisdictions.

Federis has received numerous awards as an outstanding IP lawyer in the Philippines. She has made the list of Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines each year since 2018, Who’s Who Legal Trademark since 2017, IP Stars 2017, Who’s Who Legal Patents 2018, World’s Leading Lawyer in 2018.

Federis is active in IP organisations like INTA, APAA, AIPLA, AIPPI, IPO, ECTA, MARQUES, and AIPA. She works with INTA committees, conducted panel discussions, represented INTA at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation IP Rights Experts’ Group consultation.

Federis is a frequent lecturer in IP seminars in the Philippines and other countries. She is a regular contributor in these INTA publications: Anti-Counterfeiting in Asia and the Pacific Rim, International Oppositions Guide, Country Guides, Madrid Practitioner’s Guide, and Enforcement Guide. She was also a contributor in Getting the Deal Through: Patents and Getting the Deal Through: Trademarks.

Alex Erlito Fider Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos-30 Alex Erlito Fider
Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos
Key practice areas: M&A; banking & finance; privatizations; infrastructure & utilities; telecommunications & mass media

Alex Ferdinand Fider ACCRALAW-31 Alex Ferdinand Fider
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: IP; licensing & franchising

Philip Sigfrid Fortun Fortun Narvasa & Salazar-32 Philip Sigfrid Fortun
Fortun Narvasa & Salazar
Key practice areas: Dispute resolution: civil, commercial, criminal litigation; real estate; M&A; medical malpractice; construction

Estrelita Gacutan Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos-33 Estrelita Gacutan
Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; M&A; power & energy; TMT

Kristjan Vicente Gargantiel Gargantiel Ilagan & Atanante-34 Kristjan Vicente Gargantiel
Gargantiel Ilagan & Atanante
Tel: +632-8355-9623
Email: kvtgargantiel@gialawfirm.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; defence; labour & employment; litigation; real estate
For the second consecutive year, Kristjan Vicente Gargantiel joins the coveted list of the Philippines’ Top 100 lawyers. Kris is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law in Manila. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2004.

In his sixth year as a lawyer, he founded his own law firm, the Gargantiel Law Office. From being a solo practitioner, Kris is now a senior partner at Gargantiel Ilagan & Atanante (GIA Law), a full-service law firm in Quezon City.

With his dedication and compassion for his client’s cause, Kris easily grew his clientele. He is the legal counsel of a leading publishing corporation in the country, a non-government organisation, and organisations from the business process outsourcing, real estate development, and software development industry, assisting them in corporate, labour, and tax matters, and representing them in litigious cases.

Kris is a dedicated and excellent litigator, earning praises and respect from not only his clients but also opposing counsels and serving as lead counsel in numerous high-profile and complex cases.

He is one of the officers of the Quezon City Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP QC). He is the chairperson of the journal and publications committee of the IBP QC and a contributor to the QC Law Journal, the chapter’s official publication.

While known to be a top-calibre litigator, Kris is also an academician. He is one of the most sought-after criminal law professors and lecturers at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Law, consistently receiving excellent assessments from his students.

He has also taught obligations and contracts, corporation law, public corporations (local government), labour law, political law, persons and family relations, partnership, agency, sales, and negotiable instruments.

He is also an active resource person in various law-oriented webinars on social media and programs on national television. He pays it forward as a volunteer lawyer of the legal aid team of the IBP QC.

Jaime Renato Gatmaytan Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio-35 Jaime Renato Gatmaytan
Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio
Key practice areas: Energy; real estate & construction; banking & finance; corporate; M&A

Mia Gentugaya SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-36 Mia Gentugaya
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Aviation; banking & finance

Alden Francis Gonzales DivinaLaw-37 Alden Francis Gonzales
DivinaLaw
Tel: +632 8822 0808
Email: alden.gonzales@divinalaw.com
Key practice areas: Civil & commercial litigation; arbitration; taxation; labour & employment; collective bargaining agreement negotiations
A senior partner with nearly three decades of legal experience, Alden Francis Gonzales is co-head DivinaLaw’s litigation group and also head of the firm’s labour group.

In 1986, Alden worked with SyCip Gorrez Velayo and Co as an auditor, later returning in 1991 to practice law in the tax division of the firm. Since then, Alden has represented many clients from various sectors of society before all levels of the Philippine court system. Armed with extensive knowledge on legal practice and strengthened by his background as a certified public accountant, Alden proves to be a distinct and versatile name in the field.

Alden has also extended his knowledge on law to the academe for nearly as long has he has practiced, working as a professor of civil law in his alma mater, the University of Santo Tomas, where he graduated magna cum laude. He has also been a bar reviewer at the university from 2007 to the present.
He has consistently been named among the Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines by Asia Business Law Journal since 2018.

Mark Gorriceta Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra-38 Mark Gorriceta
Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra
Tel: +632 8696 0687/0988
Email: msgorriceta@gorricetalaw.com
Key practice areas: Technology; corporate law; capital markets; M&A; securities law
Mark Gorriceta is the managing partner and head of the corporate group and head of the technology media and telecommunications group of Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra (GorricetaLaw). With over 17 years in private practice, Mark has developed extensive expertise in complex corporate transactions, commercial contracts and regulatory matters in a range of areas that impact businesses – whether for start-ups or top 1000 companies in the Philippines. He is a leading lawyer in the fields of capital markets, M&A and securities law. He is also considered the foremost tech lawyer in the Philippines.

With pioneering expertise on the law on digital assets, fintech, blockchain, virtual currencies, e-commerce, data privacy, and artificial intelligence, he is legal counsel to the biggest and most impactful technology and online companies in the Philippines.

Mark has been recognised as one of the Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers for 2020 by the Asia Business Law Journal and awarded as the Philippines’ Managing Partner of the Year for 2020 by Asian Legal Business (ALB). He was also named as one of the Dealmakers of Asia for 2020 by ALB and among the Top 10 Philippines’ Clients Choice Lawyers for 2021 by ALB.

Under his leadership, GorricetaLaw has been awarded back-to-back (2019 and 2020) Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law Firm of the Year and 2019 Innovative Technologies Law Firm of the Year in ALB Philippine Law Awards. GorricetaLaw was also voted back-to-back (2019 and 2020) “Best Technology Media and Telecommunications Law Firm of the Year” by Asia Business Law Journal. The firm was also awarded the“Construction and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year” during the 2020 Philippine Law Awards by ALB.

In 2017 and 2018, Mark was named one of “Asia’s Top 40 lawyers under 40” by ALB. In 2018 and 2019, he was also named as one of “Asia’s Who’s Who Lawyers” by ALB.

Mark is a faculty member of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Center for Continuing Education. He teaches M&A for the advanced module diploma course in corporate finance.

Lily Gruba Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula-39 Lily Gruba
Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; joint ventures; M&A; taxation

Aris Gulapa Gulapa Law-40 Aris Gulapa
Gulapa Law Offices
Tel: +632 7960 2845
Email: aris.gulapa@gulapalaw.com
Key practice areas: Construction; real estate; corporate; M&A
Aris Gulapa is a cross-border corporate lawyer trained in Manila, Singapore, Vietnam, Tokyo, and New York. He is admitted to the Philippine and New York bar, and was previously licensed as a foreign lawyer in Vietnam. After working for some of the leading firms in Asia (i.e., SyCipLaw; Kelvin Chia Partnership; Anderson Mori & Tomotsune), he set up Gulapa Law Office in September 2015. From a team of six lawyers in 2015, Gulapa Law Office has grown into a 26-lawyer firm and is now known as Gulapa & Lim (Gulapa Law).

In less than a year, Gulapa Law was recognized by international legal publications. It has been named by Chambers, IFLR, Legal500, AsiaLaw, and Asian Legal Business as a leading firm in construction/real estate and corporate/M&A, and Gulapa as a leading lawyer in the same fields. The firm was named one of the Firms to Watch and Best Boutiques in Asia in 2017 by the Asian Legal Business.

Gulapa had a vision. Having worked abroad for almost five years and obtained his LLM degree at NYU, Gulapa wanted his firm to be the first Philippine firm to internationalize its practice with its Philippine practice at the core. Thus, Gulapa Law became the first Philippine firm to set up an office in New York in 2017 and San Francisco in 2018. The firm also opened a Cebu office in 2020 and will open an office in an emerging ASEAN country this year. Gulapa and his team intend to remain strong in their existing practice areas and continue to explore uncharted territories in line with their goal of innovating, achieving, and excelling.

Judy Hao ACCRALAW-41 Judy Hao
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; capital markets; corporate & commercial; inbound investment; M&A

Editha Hechanova Hechanova Group-42 Editha Hechanova
Hechanova Group
Tel: +632 8812 6561
Email: editharh@hechanova.com.ph
Key practice areas: IP; IP litigation; licensing; border control & corporate; employment law
Editha Hechanova leads the Hechanova Group’s IP law practice. The Hechanova Group is made up of Hechanova & Co, an IP consulting firm handling trademark and patent prosecution, copyright and domain name registrations, product registration, management, valuation, searches, and other non-contentious aspects of IP, where she is president and CEO. The contentious IP practice is handled by the other member firm, Hechanova Bugay Vilchez & Andaya-Racadio, which specialise in enforcement, litigation, alternative dispute resolution, licensing, corporate, immigration law and taxation. Editha graduated from the University of the East in Manila with a business degree, major in accounting, magna cum laude. She is a certified public accountant. She obtained her law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and a certificate in strategic business economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific in the Manila.

Editha is an accredited mediator of the court of appeals and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and an arbitrator. She is currently the president of the Association of Patent Agent Qualifying Examination (PAQE) Professionals, consisting of certified patent agents. She is also the vice-president of the IP Collegium, an organisation of IP experts mainly in ASEAN, India and Brazil, sponsored by the Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation (JIPII).

She has been cited as a leading lawyer in IP law in the Philippines by the AsiaLaw Magazine, from 2002 to 2021, Who’s Who Legal Trademarks 2012 to 2021, and a Managing IP’s IP Star. She has been cited by the Asia Business Law Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines from 2018-2021. The Hechanova Group has been recognised as the Philippines Patent Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP Awards. In 2019, it was awarded the Philippines Copyright Firm of the Year, and in 2017, the Philippines Trademark Firm of the Year.

Regina Jacinto-Barrientos PJS Law-43 Regina Jacinto-Barrientos
PJS Law
Tel: +632 8840 5025
Email: rpjacinto@pjslaw.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; infrastructure; joint ventures; M&A; power & energy
This year, Regina Jacinto-Barrientos fulfils her new role as the CEO of PJS Law. As a founding partner and its managing partner for more than 10 years, she led the 25-year-old firm from a three-partner startup to a leading Philippine law firm.

While she leads innovation and transformation, Reggie continues to be heavily involved in legal practice advising clients on M&A transactions in various industries. She also co-heads the corporate/M&A group of the firm. Regina has received the “woman lawyer of the year” and “managing partner of the year” awards in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and is consistently cited for her exceptional work by Chambers & Partners Global and the Asia-Pacific, Legal500 and asialaw Profiles.

Rose Marie King-Dominguez SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-44 Rose Marie King-Dominguez
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: M&A; TMT; data privacy; investments, general corporate & business law; consumer law

Victor Lazatin ACCRALAW-45 Victor Lazatin
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: Arbitration & mediation; construction; litigation; mining; telecommunications

Francisco Lim ACCRALAW-46 Francisco Lim
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: Antitrust & trade regulation; bankruptcy; insolvency & corporate rehabilitation; litigation; securities & capital markets

Emmanuel Lombos SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-47 Emmanuel Lombos
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Dispute resolution; product liability

Carlos Roberto Lopez SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-48 Carlos Roberto Lopez
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Dispute resolution; commercial arbitration; mining; patent infringement; competition

Mel Macaraig Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose-49 Mel Macaraig
Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose
Key practice areas: Corporate law; project finance; foreign investments; M&A; banking & finance

Maria Christina Macasaet-Acaban Quisumbing Torres-50 Maria Christina Macasaet-Acaban
Quisumbing Torres
Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust; corporate & commercial; corporate governance; M&A; healthcare & life sciences

Cesar Manalaysay Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako-51 Cesar Manalaysay
Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako
Key practice areas: Corporate litigation; arbitration; infrastructure projects on build operate & transfer law; M&A; financial rehabilitation proceedings

Manuel Manaligod Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia-52 Manuel Manaligod
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Tel: +632 8810 5858
Email: ml.manaligod@cruzmarcelo.com
Key practice areas: Business law & regulation; joint ventures & public-private partnerships; corporate M&A; capital markets & securities; transportation, water & other public utilities
Manuel Manaligod is the new chairman of Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia. He remains a member of the corporate and commercial law department, continuing his involvement in infrastructure and public utility projects undertaken or proposed to implemented through public-private-partnerships and similar arrangements. His practice include work in the water, transportation, information and communications technology, and power and energy sectors.

Manaligod was a former director in the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel during the Ramos administration, and in such capacity helped draft executive issuances and implementing rules and regulations on various developmental issues and legislation.

Manaligod earned his bachelor of laws degree in 1991 from the University of the Philippines College of Law, and his master of laws degree (graduating with merit) in 1997 from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Manolito Manalo Ocampo & Manalo-53 Manolito Manalo
Ocampo & Manalo
Tel: + 632 7751 8889
Email: info@omlawphil.com
Key practice areas: Aviation; corporate & commercial; infrastructure; litigation; TMT
Manolito Manalo is the managing partner of Ocampo Manalo Valdez & Lim and oversees the firm’s labour and commercial litigation practice. He also represents various corporate clients before regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies.

For several years now, Manalo has consistently been described as a leading individual and market leader in the practice areas of dispute resolution, aviation, and real estate by respected publications such as the Legal 500, Asia Law & Practice, Expert Guides, Asia Business Law Journal, and Global Law Experts, among others.

He is an active member of various professional associations such as the Philippine Bar Association, LAWASIA and the International Bar Association. He is also the firm’s representative before the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) and the International Federation of AirLine Pilots Associations (IFALPA) and the AirLine Pilots Association (ALPA) of the US.

Aside from his reputable legal career, Manalo is a well-respected name in the business community. He concurrently serves as the chairman and CEO of publicly-listed Prime Media Holdings, director of Kajima Philippines, and independent director of Teleport Commerce Philippines. He also acts in various corporate capacities for Turkish Airlines, Air Asia, Air Seoul, PCCW of Hong Kong, Chailease Finance of Taiwan, and Hong Kong Airlines to name a few.

Manalo also serves as the Asia-Pacific managing director of WGI Global, a US-based foundation with the goal of promoting English language literacy and an adviser of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry’s “Go Negosyo Mentorship Program” for young entrepreneurs.

Manalo is a product of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, having earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a bachelor of laws degree from the same university in the years 1992 and 1995, respectively.

Simeon Marcelo Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia-54 Simeon Marcelo
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Tel: +632 8810 5858
Email: sv.marcelo@cruzmarcelo.com
Key practice areas: Commercial litigation; alternative dispute resolution; tax litigation; banking litigation; intra-corporate disputes; corporate rehabilitation
Simeon Marcelo graduated in 1979 among the top of his law class from the University of the Philippines and placed no. 5 in the bar examinations. With top corporations and then president Ramos as clients, he had distinguished himself as a top-notch litigator after twenty years of private practice of law.

He caught national public attention during the nationwide live televised 2000 impeachment proceedings against then president Estrada, having been selected to present the prosecution’s star witness.

In February 2001, he was appointed as solicitor general. His focus on the Marcoses and their cronies resulted in the recovery of PHP130 billion ill-gotten wealth (compared to the PHP26 billion recovered since the 1986 revolution). Having won all of his major cases, Marcelo was appointed as the youngest head of the country’s anti-corruption body in 2002. As ombudsman, he led the prosecution team that secured the historical first ever plunder charge conviction of a former president.

Having returned to private practice in January 2008, he was engaged as counsel of the biggest local power utility, thwarting successfully a hostile take-over. The central bank tapped him to prosecute the persons responsible for the biggest bank fraud case in the country’s history. A leading company engaged him in a multi-billion tax collection suit. In 2014, he secured from the Supreme Court a decision, annulling a tax assessment of his client’s aviation fuel sales to international carriers, which was costing it PHP100 million annually. He led his team in winning another multi-billion tax case in the Supreme Court in 2018.

In 2013-2014, he served with an ICC Tribunal that handled two related disputes. The following year, he headed the panel that secured a favorable award in an important construction arbitration dispute. Subsequently, he became the chairman of the tribunal that handled a very significant international arbitration case.

From December 2008 to June 2014, he served as one of the four members of the World Bank’s independent advisory board. In June 2013, he was conferred by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) the distinguished alumni award in public service. Currently, he serves as legal counsel in high-profile cases in various courts, including the Supreme Court.

Bienvenido Marquez III Quisumbing Torres-55 Bienvenido Marquez III
Quisumbing Torres
Key practice areas: IP; data privacy; information security; IT; telecommunications; e-commerce

Eduardo Martinez Martinez Vergara Gonzalez & Serrano-56 Eduardo Martinez
Martinez Vergara Gonzalez & Serrano
Key practice areas: Litigation; banking & finance; capital markets; M&A; debt restructuring; labour

Hector Martinez Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño-57 Hector Martinez
Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño
Key practice areas: Corporate; taxation; transactional, M&A

Euney Marie Mata-Perez Mata-Perez Tamayo & Francisco-58 Euney Marie Mata-Perez
Mata-Perez Tamayo & Francisco
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; corporate governance; inbound investment; M&A; taxation

Rolando Medalla Jr SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-59 Rolando Medalla Jr
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Taxation; M&A; mining; insurance; foreign investments; joint ventures

Yolanda Mendoza-Eleazar Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose-60 Yolanda Mendoza-Eleazar
Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose
Key practice areas: Banking finance & securities; M&A; foreign investments; corporate law; business counseling; real property

Rommel Mercado Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako-61 Rommel Mercado
Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; inbound investment; M&A; TMT

Jose Salvador Mirasol Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles-62 Jose Salvador Mirasol
Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate; real estate

Alfredo Molo III Mosveldtt-63 Alfredo Molo III
Mosveldtt
Key practice areas: Commercial litigation; alternative dispute resolution; utilities; telecommunications; technology

Rafael Morales Morales & Justiniano-64 Rafael Morales
Morales & Justiniano
Tel: +632 8834 2551
Email: ramorales@primuslex.com
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; capital markets; project finance; M&A; joint ventures; corporate & commercial law
Rafael Morales is the managing partner of Morales & Justiniano. Previously, he was the head of the banking, finance and securities practice group before assuming managing partner at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan.

He has had much recognition for his legal work, including citations in Euromoney Legal Media Group’s “Guide to the World’s Leading Banking Lawyers” and Asian Legal Business’ “List of 100 pre-eminent Asia-Pacific Lawyers.” He has been cited as a leading lawyer by IFLR1000, Legal 500, Asialaw Profiles and Who’s Who Legal. Chambers Asia Pacific classified him as an eminent practitioner in banking and finance.

Morales finished his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (cum laude) at the University of the Philippines, where he also took his Bachelor of Laws (cum laude and class valedictorian). After his LLM at the University of Michigan, where he was a DeWitt Fellow, he trained as a foreign attorney at Rosenman Colin Freund Lewis & Cohen in New York. He later became a foreign attorney at Anderson Mori & Rabinowitz in Tokyo.

He was president of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, an organisation of lawyers from more than 65 jurisdictions and with interest in Asia-Pacific. He is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Philippine Bar Association, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, New York State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He is a professorial lecturer at the College of Law of the University of the Philippines.

Morales authored two books: “The Philippine General Banking Law (Annotated)” and “The Philippine Securities Regulation Code (Annotated),” as well as numerous legal articles.

Carlos Alfonso Ocampo Ocampo & Manalo-65 Carlos Alfonso Ocampo
Ocampo & Manalo
Tel: +632 7751 7799, 7751 8899, 7751 8889, +63 918 941 6858
Email: cto@omlawphil.com
Key practice areas: Aviation; capital markets; corporate & commercial; M&A; private equity, venture capital & funds
Ocampo is the founding partner of Ocampo & Manalo. He currently handles the firm’s corporate law and commercial litigation practice, particularly projects involving M&A, infrastructure development, corporate finance, restructuring and insolvency, and transportation law. He has almost 30 years of experience in these areas and has been involved in a broad range of complex cross-border commercial transactions and contentious matters. He is credited for his role in deregulating the Philippine aviation industry in the early 1990s when he secured several administrative and congressional franchises for new airline operators, ending a monopoly of the national carrier spanning over 50 years.

In 2014, AsiaLaw named him a market-leading lawyer in the Philippines, primarily for his commercial and aviation law contributions. Since 2018, Asia Business Law Journal has acknowledged him as among the top 100 lawyers in the Philippines. He has been recommended as a leading lawyer for corporate law and M&A by leading legal publications such as Legal 500.

He is a published author and has spoken at several international law conferences. He is also a visiting lecturer for commercial law at Lanzhou University in China. He obtained his bachelor of arts in economics, cum laude, and his bachelor of laws from the University of the Philippines. He completed an executive management program at the Asian Institute of Management and earned an executive certificate in economic development from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ocampo is a director in various private corporations and an independent director in two publicly listed companies in the Philippines.

Jude Ocampo Ocampo & Suralvo-66 Jude Ocampo
Ocampo & Suralvo
Tel: +632 7625 0765
Email: jocampo@ocamposuralvo.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; infrastructure; M&A; power & energy; taxation
Jude Ocampo specialises in M&A, corporate law, and tax. He holds a master of laws degree from Harvard University, where he was a Gammon Fellow for Academic Excellence. He also earned his MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Kenan-Flagler Fellow. Jude received his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Ateneo de Manila.

“Jude has proven to be a real business partner. Jude partnered with us and paved the legal road for our company registration and set-up. Tax considerations within the Philippines, Taiwan and Singapore all had to be considered. Jude’s process is very well thought out, documented and simple to follow. He and his team are top notch.” (Jason K Pitts, CFO, Banner Engineering)

“Jude has been a reliable and dependable partner of True Digital Philippines from its inception to the scale-up stage. Like any other company, we experienced some birth pains. Jude provided us with insightful legal advice and proper guidance to ensure that we grow the business based on the agreed strategy with our stakeholders in our Thailand headquarter. His approach and careful consideration of Philippine laws and regulations made us achieve our goals. That’s why we continue to trust and consult him whenever we venture into new businesses.” (Dindo Marzan, president, True Digital Philippines)

“Jude has come to be a trusted and invaluable partner as we pursue deals in the Philippines. The depth and breadth of his expertise on deal advisory and regulatory matters take clients like us through the ins and outs of complex deals with a safe pair of hands. He and his team go above and beyond to ensure our deals are done right and with the highest standards of integrity.” (Ek Ming Tay, managing director, Ikhlas Capital).

“Jude’s unparalleled handle on commercial and regulatory law makes him uniquely effective in challenging situations. His insight comes from a marriage of expertise in both legal and business matters and is therefore consistently sharp and creative, thorough and nuanced.” (Cesar V Purisima, former finance secretary of the Philippines; Asia Fellow, Milken Institute).

Polo Pantaleon Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose-67 Polo Pantaleon
Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose
Key practice areas: Corporate law; banking & finance; foreign investments; business counseling; real property

Norma Margarita Patacsil Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio-68 Norma Margarita Patacsil
Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio
Key practice areas: M&A; competition & antitrust law; general corporate & commercial practice

Lorna Patajo-Kapunan Kapunan & Castillo-69 Lorna Patajo-Kapunan
Kapunan & Castillo
Key practice areas: Litigation; family law & estates; commercial; IP; entertainment

Perry Pe Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles-70 Perry Pe
Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles
Key practice areas: M&A; project development & finance; capital markets

Maria Elizabeth Peralta-Loriega Sarmiento Loriega-71 Maria Elizabeth Peralta-Loriega
Sarmiento Loriega
Tel: +632 7798 8115
Email: meploriega@sl-lawoffice.com
Key practice areas: Taxation; M&A; energy law; project finance; acquisition finance; EPC contracts, real estate law; land registration; privatisation; estate planning; construction & infrastructure; general corporation law
The co-managing partner of Sarmiento Loriega, Maria Elizabeth Peralta-Loriega, graduated class salutatorian from the University of the Philippines’ College of Law. She placed 19th in the 1995 Philippine Bar Examinations. Loriega, a certified public accountant, also graduated 4th in rank and cum laude from the University of the Philippines with a degree in bachelor of science in business administration and accountancy.

Loriega has focused her legal practice in M&A, energy, project finance and taxation. She also has broad experience in EPC contracts, infrastructure, real estate law, banking, finance and securities law.

In M&A and project finance, she is known as a seasoned and highly ranked practitioner. Through the years, Loriega has acted as counsel in major acquisition and project finance deals in the country’s energy, real estate, infrastructure, banking, retail, manufacturing, and telecommunications sectors. Most of the deals worked on by her through the years have won citations as “Deal of the Year”, “M&A Deal of the Year”, and “Project Finance Deal of Year” from prestigious deal award-winning bodies.

In the field of taxation, Loriega’s award-winning tax practice is heavily sought after for expert, insightful, methodical and practical tax advice. She has served as a Philippine tax expert before international arbitration tribunals. Her expertise in taxation enables her to provide effective and innovative tax solutions and deal structures, including multi-party transactions requiring complex corporate structuring.

Asia Business Law Journal has consistently cited Loriega as among the Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. She was also cited by Chambers & Partners as a “Highly Ranked Lawyer” in taxation and M&A. Loriega was also cited as among the Top 100 Women in Litigation (tax litigation) for Asia-Pacific for 2020 and Litigation Star for 2021 by Benchmark Litigation.

Carlos Platon Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leano-72 Carlos Platon
Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño
Key practice areas: Corporate; transactional, M&A

Alexander Poblador Poblador Bautista & Reyes-73 Alexander Poblador
Poblador Bautista & Reyes
Tel: +632 8893 7623
Email: ajpoblador@pbrlaw.com.ph
Key practice areas: Arbitration; real estate finance & project development; bankruptcy & corporate reorganisation
Alexander Poblador is the founding partner and chairman of the excom of Poblador Bautista & Reyes (PBR), one of the leading law firms in the Philippines.

He has consistently been cited as a recommended or leading lawyer in the fields of dispute resolution, real estate, banking and finance in the Philippines. He was cited as leading corporate dispute resolution lawyer of the year in the Philippines by Lawyer International Legal 100 (2020 and 2021) and by Global 100 (2021). He was named by Asian Legal Business (Thompson Reuters) as dispute resolution lawyer of the year in the Philippines (2021) and one of Asia’s Top 15 Litigators (2021).

In his area of practice, he represents the San Miguel Group of Companies, the Ayala Group of Companies, SM Development Corporation, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, PepsiCo, United Overseas Bank, Bank of Commerce, among other companies.

Alexander was graduated from the University of the Philippines, AB Political Science, cum laude in 1974, and LLB, cum laude and class valedictorian in 1978. He placed third in the 1978 bar examinations. He obtained his LLM (DeWitt Fellow) at the University Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1982.

He sits on the board of several corporations, including the board of directors of San Miguel Corporation. He is a member of the Philippine International Centre for Conflict Resolution of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

Patricia-Ann Prodigalidad ACCRALAW-74 Patricia-Ann Prodigalidad
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: Antitrust & trade regulation; arbitration & mediation; bankruptcy; insolvency & corporate rehabilitation; construction

Roderico Puno PunoLaw-75 Roderico Puno
PunoLaw
Tel: +632 8284 6701
Email: rvpuno@punolaw.com
Key practice areas: Energy, power generation & distribution; infrastructure; utilities regulation; M&A; corporate law
The managing partner of the firm, Roderico Puno, graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in political science in 1985, and a Bachelor of laws degree from the same university in 1989. He obtained his master of laws (with honors) from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago Illinois and was admitted as a partner in the firm in 1995.

From 2001 to 2003, Puno served as vice president-legal for First Philippine Holdings Corporation, a conglomerate engaged in power distribution, power generation, manufacturing, and real estate development. He was included in a team that handled the USD500 million debt restructuring of the parent corporation and other affiliates, being in charge of the Philippine law aspects of the deal.

From 2006 to 2014, Puno served as Director of Global Business Power, the power investment arm of the Metrobank/Ty Group, and from 2011-2017, he served as director of GT Capital Holdings, the listed holding company of all the interests of the Ty family in Metrobank, Federal Land, Toyota, and other affiliates of the group.

Puno served as corporate secretary of BDO Private Bank from 2004 to 2012, BDO Securities Corporation from 2011 to 2012, Atlas Consolidated and Mining and Development Corporation from 2006 to 2021, and First Philippine Industrial Park from 1996 to 2018. From 2012 to 2014, he served as assistant corporate secretary of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company.

Puno currently specialises in energy law, corporation law, banking, project finance, real estate, utilities regulation, privatisation, securities, and infrastructure project development. He is leading authority on Philippine energy law practice, having been in the technical working group of the Committee on Energy of the Philippine Congress, representing the private sector that drafted the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the primary law governing the energy industry in the Philippines.

Puno has been engaged as a public-private partnership (PPP) key legal expert of the Philippine Public-Private Partnership Centre and the Department of Public Works and Highways in connection with the bidding for the development and operation of an expressway-dike project.

Grace Quevedo-Panagsagan Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño-76 Grace Quevedo-Panagsagan
Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño
Key practice areas: Civil, property, family laws; data privacy; energy, mining & environment; labour

Quiason Makalintal Barot Torres Ibarra Sison & Damaso-77 Enrique Quiason
Quiason Makalintal Barot Torres Ibarra Sison & Damaso
Key practice areas: M&A; banking; finance & securities law

Dennis Quintero Quisumbing Torres-78 Dennis Quintero
Quisumbing Torres
Key practice areas: Energy, mining, & infrastructure project development; M&A/JVs; project finance; foreign investment structuring; banking, finance & insurance

Ramon Quisumbing Quisumbing Torres-79 Ramon Quisumbing
Quisumbing Torres
Key practice areas: Litigation; alternative litigation; international arbitration

Marievic Ramos-Añonuevo SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-80 Marievic Ramos-Añonuevo
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Aviation; banking & finance; capital markets; corporate/M&A; projects, infrastructure & energy; real estate & construction

Joseph Manolo Rebano Del Rosario & Del Rosario-81 Joseph Rebano
Del Rosario & Del Rosario
Tel: +632 8810 1791/5317 7888
Email: joseph.rebano@delrosariolaw.com
Key practice areas: Wet & dry shipping work; marine casualty & environmental claims; ship finance & commercial transactions; corporate & foreign investment; insurance & reinsurance
Joseph Rebano joined Del Rosario & Del Rosario in 1996 and currently heads the firm’s marine casualty practice. Joseph has a broad maritime focused practice. He acts for vessel owners and charterers, managers or agents, transport intermediaries, port terminals, protection and indemnity clubs, and other marine insurers in both contentious and non-contentious matters.

Joseph’s experience covers a wide range of shipping matters, including charter party disputes, ship casualties, marine environmental and pollution claims, defence of seafarer personal injury and death claims, ship arrest, ship finance or sale and purchase, and disputes involving carriage of goods or passengers.

He has been involved in numerous major marine casualties in the Philippines and other jurisdictions, including collisions, fires and groundings. Some of the significant maritime casualties he has been involved in are the “NOL Schedar” in 2000 (grounding or pollution incident resulted in major changes in Philippine maritime environmental legislation), “Solar 1” in 2006 (considered as the Philippines’ largest pollution incident), “Superferry 14” in 2004 (terrorist bombing), and “St Thomas Aquinas” in 2013 (potential wreck removal due to collision).

On the insurance side, Joseph advises clients on various types of insurance products, including regulatory and claim related matters.

Joseph also has considerable experience in commercial, corporate, regulatory and transactional matters specialising in maritime-related entities, including disputes arising from joint ventures, compliances and shareholder disputes.

Year on year, Joseph is recognised in the various legal directories. He is a hall of fame lawyer for shipping in Legal 500 and a distinguished practitioner for shipping in AsiaLaw.

Chambers Asia 2012 states: “Joseph Rebano is best known for his expertise in admiralty and related investigations. Sources describe him as ‘an outstanding lawyer, is very diligent and very thorough.’”

Since 2018, Joseph has consistently been recognised by Asia Business Law Journal as among The Philippines Top 100 lawyers.

He is a past president of the Philippine Maritime Law Association, former vice chairman of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) Maritime Committee, a former core group member of the Draft Maritime Code project of the Philippine congress and a trustee in the Philippine Bar Association. He graduated in law from the University of the Philippines.

Gilbert Raymund Reyes Poblador Bautista & Reyes-82 Gilbert Raymund Reyes
Poblador Bautista & Reyes
Key practice areas: Litigation; arbitration; IP; labour & employment; real estate development & regulation

Rocky Alejandro Reyes SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan-83 Rocky Alejandro Reyes
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
Key practice areas: Corporate/M&A; finance; projects, infrastructure & energy

Ricardo Romulo Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles-84 Ricardo Romulo
Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles
Key practice areas: Corporate law

Roderick Salazar Fortun Narvasa & Salazar-85 Roderick Salazar
Fortun Narvasa & Salazar
Key practice areas: Projects, mining & energy; corporate & commercial; M&A; real estate; arbitration

Tranquil Gervacio Salvador III Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles-86 Tranquil Gervacio Salvador III
Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; aviation; environment; litigation; insurance & healthcare

Augusto San Pedro Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño-87 Augusto San Pedro
Platon Martinez Flores San Pedro & Leaño
Key practice areas: IP; IP prosecution; IP litigation; IP enforcement

Augusto San Pedro Villaraza & Angangco-88 Augusto San Pedro Jr
Villaraza & Angangco
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; infrastructure; M&A; power & energy; real estate

Gemma Santos Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos-89 Gemma Santos
Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos
Key practice areas: Capital markets (equity & debt): M&A; general corporate law

Roy Enrico Santos PJS Law-90 Roy Enrico Santos
PJS Law
Key practice areas: Conflict resolution; labour; energy litigation

Maria Concepcion Simundac Villaraza & Angangco-91 Maria Concepcion Simundac
Villaraza & Angangco
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; M&A; power & energy; real estate

Bienvenido Somera Villaraza & Angangco-92 Bienvenido Somera Jr
Villaraza & Angangco
Key practice areas: IP

Ruelito Soriano Quiason Makalintal Barot Torres Ibarra Sison & Damaso-93 Ruelito Soriano
Quiason Makalintal Barot Torres Ibarra Sison & Damaso
Key practice areas: Capital markets; corporate & commercial; M&A; project finance; taxation

Eusebio Tan ACCRALAW-94 Eusebio Tan
ACCRALAW
Key practice areas: Investments; M&A; divestitures; construction; public-private-partnership agreements; privatisation projects

Sylvette Tankiang Villaraza & Angangco95 Sylvette Tankiang
Villaraza & Angangco
Key practice areas: Corporate law; M&A; infrastructure & energy; real estate & construction

Joe Nathan Tenefrancia Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia-96 Joe Nathan Tenefrancia
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Tel: +632 8810 5858
Email: jp.tenefrancia@cruzmarcelo.com
Key practice areas: Litigation & dispute resolution; telecommunications, media & technology; mining & natural resources, energy; arbitration & alternative dispute resolution; administrative law & election law
Joe Nathan Tenefrancia is Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia’s (CMT) managing partner and head of its telecommunications and information and communications technology group.

He is a litigator and a member of CMT’s litigation and dispute resolution department. He has orally argued before the Philippine Supreme Court, court of appeals, securities and exchange commission, commission on elections, and congress acting as a national board of canvassers.

With his background in mining engineering, he is also a member of CMT’s mining and natural resources department.

He was appointed assistant secretary for legal affairs (presidential management staff) under the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Subsequently, he was appointed as chief presidential legal counsel and then as senior deputy executive secretary for legal affairs.

He obtained his bachelor of laws in 1990 and holds a bachelor of science degree in mining engineering (1985) both from the University of the Philippines.

Pancho Umali Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia-97 Pancho Umali
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Tel: +632 8810 5858
Email: pg.umali@cruzmarcelo.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; environment; joint ventures; mining & natural resources; real estate
Pancho Umali is a senior partner in Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia’s corporate and commercial law department and mining and natural resources department.

He regularly advises clients on, among others, investment structures and protection, nationality restrictions, compliance and governance, government procurement, tax, conveyancing, property development, citizenship, immigration, employment and outsourcing. As a member of the firm’s mining and natural resources department, he also routinely assists clients particularly on land and environmental issues, indigenous peoples, social and development management, community relations, security, and local governments.

He holds a degree in bachelor of arts major in philosophy from the University of the Philippines, where he graduated cum laude. In 2001, he obtained his bachelor of laws degree from the same university where he graduated as a member of the University of the Philippines Law Honors’ Society, the Order of the Purple Feather. Umali was admitted to the Philippine Bar the succeeding year.

Umali is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; the Philippine Bar Association; the Taguig Lawyers League; and the Makati Law Foundation.

Susan Villanueva Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia-98 Susan Villanueva
Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
Tel: +632 8810 5858
Email: sd.villanueva@cruzmarcelo.com
Key practice areas: IP; taxation; trade; litigation
Susan D Villanueva is an experienced and accomplished litigator who has successfully represented intellectual property, tax and trade cases.

Villanueva heads the firm’s intellectual property department and is the principal litigator of intellectual property litigation and enforcement cases. She was the principal litigator of landmark intellectual property cases in the Philippines where the Supreme Court first declared a trademark as internationally well-known and affirmed the jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property Office over administrative cases for violations of intellectual property rights. She also successfully defended before the Supreme Court search warrants issued against suspected infringers in an enforcement action for the liquefied petroleum gasoline industry. She successfully argued before the Supreme Court to affirm the abandonment of a patent on the ground of public interest.

Villanueva is also a lead litigator of the tax litigation group with extensive experience handling cases before the court of tax appeals and appellate courts. Villanueva is the principal advisor and lead litigator of a major petroleum company on major tax litigation matters.

She also heads the firm’s trade practice group. She represented the Philippine cement industry in obtaining the first provisional safeguard measure issued in the Philippines. She has also advised the petrochemical industry on Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) matters.

Villanueva is a professorial lecturer of intellectual property law at the University of the Philippines College of Law. She is also a member of the American Bar Association and the New York Bar Association. Villanueva earned her bachelor of laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1991, graduating cum laude and salutatorian. She ranked fourth in the 1991 Philippine Bar Examinations. She earned her master of laws degree, specialising in intellectual property and international law, from Yale University in 1995.

Rolando Mario Villonco Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako-99 Rolando Mario Villonco
Siguion Reyna Montecillo & Ongsiako
Key practice areas: Labour & employment; corporate law; corporate & civil litigation

Ben Yap Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio-100 Ben Dominic Yap
Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio
Key practice areas: Dispute resolution; arbitration; projects, energy & infrastructure

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