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.

• 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 Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) and other infrastructure Projects.

• Has extensive experience on a number of toll road projects such as the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Phase 2 Project, the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road Project, 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).

• 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.

• Served as counsel on various infrastructure projects involving airports, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and environmental waste management.

• 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).

• 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.