MANILA – The Philippine Bar Association (PBA) marks today its 131st Foundation Day at the Manila Golf and Country Club.
The PBA is the oldest voluntary organization of lawyers in the Philippines. It is currently headed by Capiz native Atty. Ernestine Villareal-Fernando who is also a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law.
Tonight’s theme of “Continuing Education and Expanding Frontiers” will be keynoted by lawyer and former Vice President Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo.
The PBA traces its roots from the Colegio de Abogados de Filipinas organized in April 1891 and the Bar Association organized by American lawyers in the Philippines in 1900. The PBA has played a leading role in the history of the legal profession in the country, consistent with its mission to uphold the rule of law.
The PBA has worked with local and global linkages for advancement such as with LawAsia, the HCCH (Hague Conference on Private International Law/ Conference de la Haye de Droit International Prive), Unidroit (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) and other international offices.
Early this year the PBA hosted the international webinar “Localization and Cross-Border Data Transfers: Asia Update” bringing together foremost experts and private practitioners in data privacy from seven jurisdictions – Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, China, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
PBA officers and members also flew to Iloilo to share their practice with students from law schools in Western Visayas. The PBA engages in educational and socio-civic activities to foster camaraderie and fellowship not only among its members but among the stakeholders that it serves as well.
The PBA also participated in consultations leading to the Supreme Court’s recent issuance of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (the CPRA), which the public knows to be the code of ethics for lawyers./PN
