Lawyer of the Year

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) lawyer and John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC) vice president and chief operations officer, Atty. Michelle T. Regala-Niebres receives the prestigious Justice Ramon Diokno Award from Government Corporate Counsel Raoul Creencia, Chairman of the Philippine Association of Government Corporate Lawyers (PAGCLAW). Also among the finalists is Atty. Blaise Marie E. Alaras-Malabanan of the BCDA Legal Services Department. The event was held during the 2014 Search for Outstanding Government Corporate Lawyers at the Landbank Corporate Office.

Shown (from left) are Integrated Bar of the Philippines National Treasurer Atty. Ma. Teresita Sison Go, Justice Creencia, Dean Jose Manuel Diokno, Atty. Niebres, Senator Francis Escudero, PAGCLAW President Atty. Ricardo Arlanza, Land Bank President Gilda Pico and PAGCOR President Jorge Sarmiento. The Justice Ramon Diokno Award is given to the government lawyer who best exemplifies “commitment to public interest, professionalism, earnestness and judiciousness, political neutrality, nationalism and patriotism, commitment to democracy and simple living” and whose accomplishments are extraordinary and beneficial. The event is hosted by the Office of the Government Counsel, the PAGCLAW, in cooperation with the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs.)