Cesar P MANALAYSAY

Introduction

Recognised by Asia Business Law Journal for various years as among Philippines’ top 100 lawyers and Global Awards 2023 winner for commercial arbitration. Cesar P Manalaysay is the managing partner and a general partner in Siguion Reyna, Montecillo & Ongsiako. He joined the firm in 1975.

He has 50 years of experience in law practice in corporate litigation before the Securities and Exchange Commission 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 years, he was part of the team that handled Philippine legal issues for Fraport AG of Germany in connection with NAIA 3 international airport arbitration at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington DC He gives advice and handles litigation on the Philippine Anti-Dummy Law which penalises violations of nationality restrictions on certain investments and business activities. He handles a variety of corporate rehabilitation cases, two of which arose from the bankruptcy proceedings of Lehman Brothers in New York.

He counselled Siemens AG on its (1,500 mega watt) power generation project in the Philippines and assisted clients on BOT Airport and Transport Systems. He assisted Unilever to establish an ice cream business in the Philippines. He handled the public listing of shares of one of the largest universities and counselled the underwriter on the listing of one of the most popular fast-food chains in the Philippines. He successfully defended in the Supreme Court the Philippine Stock Exchange in a suit arising from its refusal to list the shares of a real estate company despite approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1974

Education

• University of California, Berkeley 1976 (LLM)
• Ateneo De Manila University 1973 (LLB with Honours)
• Ateneo De Manila University 1969 (Political Science)