CESAR P. MANALAYSAY
MANAGING PARTNER Practice Areas Litigation Labor Law International and Local Commercial Arbitration Corporate Law Admission to the Bar Admitted to the Bar in 1974 Education University of California, Berkeley 1976 (LL.M) Ateneo De Manila University 1973 (LL.B with Honors) Ateneo De Manila University 1969 (Political Science) Professional Activities and Memberships Member, IBP Quezon City Chapter> Member, Philippines Bar Association Rotary Club of Manila Awards and Publications Recognized by Asia Business Law Journal for various years as among Philippines’ Top 100 lawyers Mr. Cesar P. Manalaysay is the Managing Partner and a General Partner in Siguion Reyna, Montecillo & Ongsiako. He joined the firm in 1975. Mr. Manalaysay’s practice includes Litigation, Arbitration and Corporate. He has 45 years of experience in corporate litigation before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Regional Trial Courts, and appellate practice before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. He handled intra-corporate controversies involving struggles for control of some of the biggest publicly-listed companies in the Philippines, and engaged in fields as diverse as universal banking, food manufacturing, telecommunications, mining, oil exploration and real estate holdings. For ten (10) years, he was part of the team that handled Philippine legal issues for Fraport A.G. of Germany in connection with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal III (NAIA III) arbitration suit, at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington D.C. He gives advice and handles litigation on the Philippine Anti-Dummy Law which penalizes violations of nationality restrictions on certain investments and business activities. He also handles a variety of corporate rehabilitation cases, two of which arose from the bankruptcy proceedings of Lehman Brothers in New York. He counseled Siemens AG on its (1,500 mega watt) power generation project in the Philippines and assisted clients on BOT Light Rail and Subway Transportation Systems. He assisted Unilever to establish an ice cream business in the Philippines thru a joint venture arrangement and also helped in its acquisition and sale of other businesses. He has advised Nestle Philippines on sales, distribution and other related matters. He handled the public listing of shares of one of the largest universities and counseled the underwriter on the listing of one of the most popular fast food chains in the Philippines. He defended the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in a law suit arising from its refusal to list the shares of a real estate company despite approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Supreme Court affirmed PSE’s authority to deny listing. He assisted a Bermuda company which has interests in manufacturing plants in the Philippines to list in the Singapore Stock Exchange. He holds several directorship and or officer position in key companies, such as: The Thomson (Philippines) Corporation, Amicus Realty, Inc., Siemens, Inc., Siemens Power Operations, Inc., Omni Aviation Inc., Atos IT Solutions and Services Inc., XBS Disposition Subsidiary Philippines, Inc., Lakelands Country Club, Inc., and Muntinlupa Development Foundation.
ROLANDO MARIO G. VILLONCO
CHAIRMAN Practice Areas Labor and Employment Law Corporate Law Civil Litigation Admission to the Bar Admitted to the Bar in 1978 Education Ateneo Law School, 1977 Mr. Rolando Mario G. Villonco is a General Partner and the Chairman of the Siguion Reyna MOntecillo and Ongsiako Law Offices. He spearheads the Labor Department of the firm. Under his careful watch, the firm’s solid reputation in labor practice has flourished. He has, through the years, successfully steered many of the biggest companies in the Philippines – such as PLDT, San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Airlines, RCBC, Atlas Consolidated Mining Corporation – in successfully negotiating and concluding Collective Bargaining Agreements with their employees. His counsel is much sought-after in dealing with, and satisfactorily resolving, myriad employer-employee issues, including strikes and union-related problems, and other controversies constituting the aftermath of local and international mergers and acquisitions, spin-off projects, outsourcing arrangements, redundancy, streamlining initiatives and other major personnel actions undertaken by management with actual and potentially serious implications in corporate operations and finances. Mr. Villonco’s other practice areas are in corporate law, and in corporate and civil litigation; one of his earlier cases concerned the successful conversion of shares in one of the oldest clubs in the country, Manila Polo Club, from non-proprietary to proprietary. Mr. Villonco was born in 1951, schooled in Ateneo de Manila University where he also received his law degree, and admitted to the Bar in 1978. He was a member of the Board of Directors and Corporate Secretary of the Pasig, Makati, and Mandaluyong Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippine from 1983-1985. He is currently an officer and director of Siemens, ETSI Technologies, Inc., Rothelma, and Rothelma Aquatic Resources.