Serves as the proactive resident legal counsel, and concurrently, the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the University’s ₱3.9+ Billion retirement fund, covering over 10,400 members/employees across the U.P. System nationwide (Diliman, Manila, Los Baños, Baguio, Visayas, Mindanao, Cebu, Open University, and Philippine General Hospital).

Provides strategic advice, and legal direction to the Board and Administration on:

• Risk management and/or mitigation efforts, strong corporate governance, institutional policy development and/or policy-making
• Fostering strong regulatory compliance culture, safe and sound tax planning, and such other proactive or forward-looking legal measures for implementation
• Data privacy frameworks and internal controls to protect over 10,000+ data subjects

Trivia: By way of merit-recognition for his performance as a working Bar Exam Candidate who continued reporting to work being an underbar legal researcher simultaneous with his bar review and exam preparations, the Executive Director appointed him at age 26 as the youngest legal officer, and team lead in the organization shortly after admission to the Philippine Bar.

The Board and the Management has since supported his professional development by regularly sending him to the U.P. Law Center - Institute of Administration of Justice (IAJ) for capacity-building activities, and various specialized training, e.g., focused on corporate governance and practice, business and finance legal environment, artificial intelligence and the law, intellectual property, highly-technical workshop for data privacy lawyers, and taxation litigation/tax-corporate advisory-focused MCLE.

At the age of 27, he is privileged to be invited and engaged as a Consultant to Pelaez Umali Tan Law, a reputable firm in Makati City established and managed by U.P. Law and Ateneo Law Alumni lawyers. He assists the Firm Partners and Associate/s in these practice areas:

Retainer work covering advisory work for day-to-day operations of diverse high-profile corporate clients such as:

• Financial Technology (Fintech) Companies
• Start-up Incubators
• Cement Manufacturing
• Food and Service Franchise Operators
• E-Commerce Platforms
• Software Developers
• Financing and Lending Companies
• Real Estate Businesses and/or Condominium Association
• Medical Equipment Supplies
• Downstream Petroleum Companies
• Family Estates
• Non-charitable organizations
• Secure special permits for the business of the clients
• Tariff and Customs Law Practice for importer-clients
• Regulatory advisory for local and foreign clients/Foreign investment advisory
• Contract drafting, review, and negotiation
• Limited due diligence
• Other general corporate and commercial work including tax compliance concerns for special projects
• Litigation

External Counsel/Legal Consultant to businesses or corporations engaged in different industries, and to non-profit organizations, Cooperatives, and NGOs

• Electric Cooperative in the Province of La Union, supplying the electric supply of 20 towns and 1 component city
• Pangasinan State University Multipurpose Cooperative
• Public Utility Vehicle/Transport Cooperative in Baguio City
• Teachers and Employees’ Cooperative in a Public High School in Pangasinan
• Digital Marketing and Virtual Staffing Company in United States of America doing business in the Philippines
• BPO Company in Pasay City
• Private Tutorial Center in Baguio City
• Advertising and Marketing Business, and Construction and Development Corporation in Rizal and Metro Manila
• Printing Press in Tarlac City
• Real Estate Business in Tarlac City
• General Engineering Contractor and Management Services in Quezon City
• Industrial Inspection, Building and Equipment Technology Provider in the Province of Bataan
• Manpower and Technical Services Provider in Calamba City, Laguna, Metro Cebu, and Metro Manila
• Pro bono legal consultant to the Officers of a State University’s Supervisors’ Association, and Young and Elders Association of Salaan

• Of Counsel, Cariño Law Office (Baguio City): Assigned to handle Civil and Criminal Cases, and appearing before Election and Administrative Bodies
• Collaborating Counsel of Villegas Law Firm (Ortigas, Pasig City)
• Of Counsel, Tamayo & Partners Law

Significant situations or cases managed and handled:

• 200+ victims of Syndicated Estafa in San Carlos City, Pangasinan, mostly public school teachers, farmers, and other individuals belonging to the marginalized sector
• Election lawyer to then Congresswoman Sandra Y. Eriguel, MD, of the 2nd District of La Union
• Secured the conviction of an Electric Cooperative Director charged with the crime of Estafa
• Secured the conviction of an employee of a multi-million sports equipment store, charged with qualified theft of an aggregate sum of ₱10 Million
• Counsel for a local electric cooperative protesting in Court a ₱200M local tax assessment by a Provincial Government. His Team was able to successfully reduce the said amount to ₱9M, resulting in hundreds of millions of savings for the said cooperative
• Able to lobby with the Department of Finance Bureau of Local Government Finance, and Department of Energy to come up with a Joint Memorandum Circular reiterating the tax-exempt status of local electric cooperatives

Advocacies: Social Enterprise or Social Impact Investments through the Cooperative Movement (currently Officer in the GAD Committee of Benguet State University Community Multipurpose Cooperative, and member of 5 various cooperatives), Women, Gender Sensitivity, Social Equality/Inclusiveness, Welfare of differently-abled Persons, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, Legal Awareness, and fighting historical disinformation.

Aboitiz Group’s Financial Services, under Union Bank – PeraHub, Incorporated (money service provider with 3,000+ branches in the country)

Trivia: In 2021, Western Union Philippines commended his Investigation write ups and prescribed the same as nationwide model template for Investigative Reports involving Anti-Money Laundering infractions and Data Integrity issues. His output won the Special Recognition for Content Quality and Completeness of Report and Investigation, thereby making it a guide for all WU branches and business partners in the entire Philippines.

Resource Person, Dura Lex Sed Lex, a weekly legal segment of Bombo Radyo Baguio Station.

Frequent Resource Person on air discussing legal issues/public interest cases:

• Bombo Radyo Dagupan Station
• GMA News and Public Affairs’ Sumbungan ng Bayan (24 Oras and/or Facebook Live with Oscar Oida)

• Part-Time Faculty, Saint Louis University – Department of Political and Social Sciences
• Courses Taught: Family Law, Obligations & Contracts, Public International Law, Constitutional Law, Parliamentary Procedure, Election Law, and Corporation Law
• In his first year of teaching, he obtained a Faculty Evaluation Score of 100% during A.Y. 2021-2022, as certified by the College Dean
• Bar Exam Coach, LawYour Tutor, an online Mentoring Program for Law Students and Bar Examinees needing reinforcement trainings/lectures
• Resource Speaker in different seminars and speaking engagements

Opinion/Feature Contributor, Baguio Midland Courier: A Newspaper of local circulation in the entire Cordillera Administrative Region, and in the newsletters of Cooperatives of which he is a Member.

Trivia:

• Former Editor-in-Chief of Ang Tambuli, the Filipino Campus Newspaper of Mangaldan National High School
• Radio Anchor/Scriptwriter, MNHS’ delegation to the 2011 Division Schools Press Conference – Broadcasting Competition

Assigned by the Supreme Court to the Saint Louis University (Baguio City) Testing Site.

• Legal Researcher: Provincial Government of Tarlac - Legal Department, helping 17 Municipalities, and 1 City with their legal issues, review of local ordinances and resolutions, and provide technical help to the legal needs of the Community
• General Manager, and Paralegal of a Construction Company (Public Infra Projects/Government-bidding concentrated)