Received his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the Ateneo de Manila in 2004, with honors, where he graduated in the top 17 of his class.  He received his Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from the University of the Philippines in 2000.  After having been admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2005, he joined the law firm of Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose as an associate attorney from 2004-2005. From 2005-2006, he served as the first corporate counsel of the Philippine Infrastructure Corporation (PIC), a government-owned corporation specializing in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Projects.

• Currently acting as part of the local legal consultants for a foreign investor proposing to enter into a Build-Operate-Transfer Contract with the DOF/BIR/BOC for an IT project which is projected to increase and improve the excise tax collection of the government.

• Currently part of legal team acting as external counsel for a group of companies involved in the mining industry in their debtor-initiated petition for corporate rehabilitation, involving liabilities exposure of around US$433 Million and also as counsel for a Special Purpose Asset Vehicle client relative to its Php3.5 Billion loan exposure in the corporate rehabilitation case of a debtor company.

• Acted as local legal counsel to a leading international provider of security inks in relation to its bid for ink supply requirements with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Work included assisting client in responding to and complying with BSP’s documentary requirements.

• Has extensive experience in a number of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Projects, including an information technology (IT) project with the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) South Extension Project, and an environmental waste management project, where he drafted unsolicited BOT proposals to the various government institutions, drafted concession agreements and negotiated with various government institutions.

• He also has an extensive experience in a number of toll road projects such as the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road Project, the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Cavite-Laguna (CALA) East-West Road (Cavite Arterial Road) Project, and the North Luzon East Expressway (NLEE) Project, where he negotiated for the acquisition of road rights-of-way, drafted concession agreements and negotiated toll road concessions with relevant government agencies such as the Office of the President, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC).

• Worked on a number of energy-related projects involving the oil and gas, geothermal and electricity industry. These projects include the Galoc Oil Field Project, Camago-Malampaya Oil Leg (CMOL) Project, Masinloc Power Plant, Mindanao Coal-Fired Power Plant, the Philippine National Oil Company- Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC) and the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), the operator of the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

• Acted as counsel for an international financial institution and special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in successfully bidding and negotiating for the purchase of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of a number of financial institutions. His experience also includes the servicing and prosecution of NPAs on behalf of the financial institutions/SPVs.

• Served as corporate counsel for the Philippine Infrastructure Corporation (PIC), a government-owned and controlled corporation attached to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that is at the forefront in the development of vital Philippine infrastructure projects primarily through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) undertakings. His work included advising PIC and its parent-company, the National Development Company (NDC), on issues, strategies and solutions involving BOT and other infrastructure Projects.

• Has done extensive work on the Laguindingan and Mindanao Airports Project, where he was part of a global team that formulated a proposal to the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to develop the P5.3 Billion Project under a BOT scheme that involved the clustering of all Mindanao airports under a single operator and the conversion of the Lumbia Airport as part of Project assets. His participation in this Project included cooperation and coordination with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Philippine BOT Center.

• Served as the Vice-Chairman of PIC’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) where he advised the BAC on relevant issues and effective solutions involved in public bidding and where he has extensive experience on public bidding of infrastructure projects and government procurement. He also advised the Philippine National Oil Company – Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) in the preparation of its bidding rules and bidding documents in relation to the CMOL Project.

• Worked on a number of litigation cases, including acting as counsel for an international financial institution in prosecuting its billion-Peso claim against a large domestic corporation, as well as acted as counsel for defendants in a controversial global class suit involving more than 3000 plaintiffs from various countries in South America and Asia, including the Philippines.

• Acted as litigation counsel for the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), the operator of the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), in prosecuting its cases before the Philippine Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). He has also delivered a lecture to the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue regarding the tax incidences of WESM.

• Worked on a number of labor engagements, including advising on issues and effective strategies involving labor relations, successfully averting an impending strike against a manufacturing company and successfully negotiated a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with one of the biggest labor unions in the Philippines.