Chief legal officer and chief compliance officer | Manila Water Company
General counsel - Philippines | Jollibee Foods Corporation
Corporate secretary, corporate counsel, and data protection officer | Emperador
Vice president - legal, ethics and compliance, corporate secretary and data protection officer | Republic Cement
Global corporate legal affairs senior manager | International Container Terminal Services
Vice president, corporate legal - general counsel group | JG Summit Holdings
Country general counsel and GAM lead | 3M Philippines
General counsel, Philippines and beauty and well-being, Southeast Asia | Unilever Philippines
Legal and compliance manager, Philippines | GHD Pty
Senior vice president - legal services head and data privacy officer | Asia United Bank Corporation
Senior vice president legal | SM Investments
First senior vice president- general counsel and corporate secretary | Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
Senior assistant vice president, head of legal | SM Prime Holdings
Senior associate general counsel – contracts and commercial transactions | Aboitiz Equity Ventures
Assistant vice president, legal | Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation
Head of the office of the general counsel - legal services division | Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank)
Senior legal counsel | Concepcion Industrial Corporation
First vice president, head of legal services | Philippine Bank of Communications
Corporate counsel | Excelsur Global Development Corporation
Associate director - regulatory and general affairs | Collins Aerospace
Data protection officer and first vice president, senior counsel for commercial affairs and project audit | Stradcom Corporation
Head, legal department | AyalaLand Estates Group
Legal manager for intellectual property and brand protection | Golden ABC
Senior legal counsel - corporate law and special projects | Ayala Corporation
General counsel and regulatory affairs director | Samsung Electronics Philippines
Director - global corporate legal affairs | International Container Terminal Services
General counsel and vice president for legal and corporate affairs | Frontiir
First vice president and alternate corporate information officer | BDO Unibank
Chief legal officer | JG Summit Holdings
Senior counsel and assistant corporate secretary, AREIT and Ayala Land | AREIT and Ayala Land
Corporate secretary, chief compliance officer, senior vice president, chief legal officer | Aboitiz Group
First senior vice president and chief legal counsel, head of legal group | Philippine National Bank
Senior legal manager for internal compliance and dispute management | Metro Pacific Tollways South Management Corporation
Senior vice president, head of corporate legal affairs and corporate secretary | Bank of the Philippine Islands
Senior vice president legal for corporate strategy | AG&P
Assistant vice president and head, issuer regulation division | Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)
Senior vice president, chief legal counsel and corporate secretary | PLDT
Chief compliance officer, senior vice president of legal and compliance | Globe Telecom
Corporate legal counsel, DPO | Demand Science Team Philippines
General counsel and head of legal | Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corporation
Director for legal services | Travellers International Hotel Group (Newport World Resorts)
Senior vice president and general counsel | Filinvest Development Corporation
Director of legal services, ethics, regulatory and compliance operations | Accenture
Vice president - contracts and special projects | Aboitiz Equity Ventures
Vice president, head of legal services and data privacy officer | Cignal TV
Vice president, structuring and regulatory affairs, head of legal | Aboitiz InfraCapital
Associate general counsel, supply chain | Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines
Internal legal adviser, data protection officer and assistant vice president | ANZ Global Services and Operations
Chief legal and corporate affairs officer | Hijo Group of Companies
Head of legal and ethics officer | ENGIE Services (Philippines)
Vice president, legal and general counsel | Liwayway Marketing Corporation (Oishi Group)
Head of legal and GRC — governance, risk and compliance | Coins.ph
General counsel | McDonald’s Philippines (Golden Arches Development Corporation)
General legal counsel and global GSC privacy counsel | 3M Global Service Center - Philippines
General counsel, chief administrative officer | Inspiro Relia Global Shared Services
Associate general counsel | San Miguel Holdings Corp
Associate general counsel (director) | Jollibee Foods Corporation
Chief legal officer, Ayala Corporation and group general counsel, Ayala Land | Ayala Corporation
Associate vice president, legal; head of vontracts and documentation | Globe Fintech Innovations (Mynt)
Vice president, legal | Pasudeco Development Corporation
Senior vice president and chief legal and admin officer | Travellers International Hotel Group
Senior vice president, chief legal counsel, assistant corporate secretary, compliance officer | Meralco
In association with our partners Villaraza & Angangco, The Legal 500 is proud to present our first-ever GC Powerlist: Philippines to you, our compilation of the top in-house lawyers in one of the globe’s most exciting and rapidly growing nations.
Having published a Southeast Asia GC Powerlist for many years, our research team’s goal for 2023 is to increase the focus of our coverage of in-house lawyers across Southeast Asia and to create specific editions for the in-house legal communities in the major economies here. We are delighted to be able to properly highlight the full range of top corporate counsel that there are in the Philippines, and hope that this publication, which is the culmination of many months (and, indirectly, years) of research by our team, shows how committed The Legal 500 is to the Philippines.
As always, the interviews we conducted gave a remarkable insight into the work of the modern high-level corporate counsel. We always make sure to ask a series of questions to the GCs we speak to, and receive a huge range of answers in response, from the effects of technological change, to the quality of legal representation in the country at hand, to the future of the GC position. Cecily Nerisse (Chel) C. Ramirez-dela Cruz of 3M Philippines’ explanation of why in-house lawyers are well-placed to deliver change in their organisations stood out for its clarity:
‘In-house lawyers, by their function and the nature of the position, have general knowledge of a company’s operations, and can flag what works, what doesn’t, what needs improvement. We listen to our clients as they consult, and we can identify the root cause of the problems, as well as any unintended but inevitable consequences thereof, and recommend courses of action to address these problems and avoid them, or mitigate the risks that accompany them. Because of this unique knowledge, in-house lawyers are well-suited to be catalysts for meaningful change in their respective organisations.’
Rosa Margarita A. De Guzman of McDonald’s Philippines talked eloquently about the need to put in the hours when developing relationships with others in the business:
‘Credibility takes time to build and can only be successfully accomplished with a track record of dependability. We must be the legal experts that we advertise ourselves to be. We must consistently show up for the commitments that we make. And, we have to unfailingly deliver on promises or otherwise extend ourselves to our limits to attempt it. There is no workaround on building credibility. It entails hard work, reliability, and time. Showing our moralities as a person is another matter entirely but is something that I believe is equally important to build authentic relationships with our business partners. It requires a certain vulnerability to expose what matters to us most.’
Taking a different approach, Bernard Malibiran of Republic Cement spoke about his wishlist for the Filipino law firms of the future.
‘I would like to see less traditional, and more innovative and entrepreneurial thinking in external law firms. Innovative law firms are not only tech savvy, but also offer fresh approaches and perspectives to legal complexities—perhaps brought about by a more diverse set of lawyers with backgrounds coming from information technology, engineering, or finance rather than the traditional political science or legal management backgrounds.’
Thank you to all the in-house lawyers who spoke to us as part of our research into this first ever Philippines edition of the GC Powerlist, and congratulations to all of those who made the final cut. Thank you also to V&A for making this event possible—we could not ask for better event partners. We plan to make the Philippines GC Powerlist a yearly ceremony highlighting the best corporate counsel in the country, and hope to have many more editions over the coming years.
Joe Boswell
Global Editor: The Legal 500’s Powerlist Series
The Legal 500
With a scorching hot early July day in Manila as the setting, The Legal 500 journeyed to the fabulous Rainmaker Lounge at the penthouse of Villaraza & Angangco’s V&A Law Centre to host and congratulate the leading lights of the in-house legal community of the Philippines as part of the first-ever Philippines GC Powerlist. The room was packed to capacity with GCs, chief legal officers and legal heads, the culmination of a research and invitation process that took our research team many months to complete.
The lounge had an electric atmosphere as old friends and classmates caught up with each other and new connections were made, and after some bubbles and hors d’oeuvres the guests settled in for the ceremony. Opening remarks and well-wishes from The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist editor Joe Boswell were followed by a rousing congratulatory speech from V&A’s managing partner Sylvette Tankiang who spoke of the great achievements those in the room had made to be a part of the ceremony. GC keynote speaker Maricor Adriano of GCash took the podium next, speaking about the unique role in-house lawyers play for their organisations and relating some of the key episodes in her career that had made her into the lawyer and businessperson she is today.
The award ceremony followed, as each successful in-house lawyer took to the stage to receive their certificate alongside Legal 500 representative Ben Lovell. After closing congratulations from V&A co-managing partner Franchette Acosta, it was time for the party, which went late into the night. Congratulations to all the fine GCs who made it onto the Powerlist, and thank you to Villaraza & Angangco for making this event possible.
