BAR STATUS

Admitted to practice in the Philippines, 2006 (ranked No. 1 out of 1,526 bar passers)

Education

New York University School of Law, New York, NY

LL.M. in International Legal Studies, May 2010 (with focus on international commercial and investment arbitration)

Honors: Hugo Grotius Scholarship (full-tuition scholarship awarded on the basis of academic merit)

Senator J. William Fulbright Scholarship

Activities: Graduate Editor, Journal of International Law & Politics

University of the Philippines College of Law, Quezon City, Philippines

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B, cum laude), April 2005

Honors: Class Valedictorian, Academic Excellence Awardee 

Activities: Team Captain, Best Oralist, Best Memorial, Asia Cup International Law Moot Court Competition, Japan, 2004

Team Captain, Semi-finalist, Finalist of the Gilbert Apollis Best Speaker Award, Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law Competition, Collonges La-Rouge, France, 2005

Supervised Legal Research: The Silent Witness Against Torture: Making the Case for Recorded Interrogations 

Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines

B.S. Management, major in Legal Management, April 2001

Honors: Honorable Mention

Experience

Professor Philip Alston, NYU School of Law, New York, NY

Research Associate, Fall 2009

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, Makati City, Philippines

Senior Associate, 1 January 2011 – present; Associate, November 2005–December 2010

Advises foreign investors (mining, infrastructure and power sectors, in particular) on Philippine regulatory, land, local government and indigenous groups issues and the applicability of bilateral investment treaties, and represents them in court litigation and arbitration; advises foreign investors on corruption and bribery laws and practices in the Philippines; coordinates with several government agencies and foreign counsel on cases with international law dimensions; negotiated a bilateral trade agreement concerning the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes between the Philippines and Taiwan; argued for the constitutionality and enforceability of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines.

Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law, Makati City, Philippines

Professorial Lecturer, October 2008—March 2009

Taught law students basic Public International Law.

Court of Appeals, Manila, Philippines

Clerk, Justice Teresita Dy-Liacco Flores, April 2004—November 2004

Reviewed pending cases and drafted decisions and resolutions under the supervision and control of Justice Flores; liaised with the different departments of the Court of Appeals on behalf of Justice Flores.

Additional Information

Languages: Fluent in English and Filipino

Interests: Enjoy debating, reading romance novels, watching movies and TV series, and interesting conversations over coffee.

Memberships: Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Asian Society of International Law