Member Profiles

Mr. Marcelo previously served as the country's Solicitor General [February 2001 - October 2002] and Ombudsman [October 2002 - November 2005]. Despite keeping a low profile while still in private practice, he was already acknowledged in legal circles as one of the country’s top litigators. He caught public attention during the impeachment proceedings against then President Joseph Estrada when he was chosen to handle the presentation of the prosecution’s star witness. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the country’s leading newspapers, observed: “His impeccable courtroom manners, boyish smile and quick, appropriate answers to the questions of the chief justice, senator-judges and defense panel won the hearts of the viewers of the impeachment trial. Simeon Marcelo, one of the private prosecutors in the impeachment trial, handled the direct examination of star witness Governor Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson, and became, in the process, one of the leading lights in this historical trial. x x x During the entire proceeding, Marcelo, though low-key and unassuming, stood out. In fact, he was brilliant. Cool and unflappable, he was so prepared, nothing could have surprised or unnerved him. x x x” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 14 February 2001, at page B13) In February 2001, Mr. Marcelo accepted an appointment as Solicitor General. As head of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), an office separate and independent from the Department of Justice, he gave exceptional focus on the much neglected ill-gotten wealth cases against the Marcoses and their cronies. His efforts led to the successful recovery of ill-gotten wealth amounting to billions of pesos. Having won all of OSG’s major cases during his tenure, he is considered as one of the most successful Solicitors General in our history. These accomplishments led to his subsequent appointment as Ombudsman. Apart from being the youngest ever to be appointed to the position, Mr. Marcelo’s work in the fight against graft and corruption earned local and international recognition. Faced with severe lack of resources, he led a serious and effective crusade against corruption, earning praises from foreign and local media, including the Philippines’ normally critical newspapers. The Washington Post stated that Mr. Marcelo “restored credibility to that organization.” Mr. Marcelo also led the legal panel that successfully prosecuted and secured the conviction of former President Joseph Estrada for plunder. A well respected journalist, Juan Mercado, described him as follows: “Exasperated by political infighting, George Washington wrote: ‘Few have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.’ Simeon Marcelo had what it took. International and local observers agree on that. Street yokels, like us, got a first close look at this 1979 topnotcher during the Estrada impeachment trial. People liked what they saw then: a talented comer without guile. In Adlai Stevenson’s words, he could ‘lead a cavalry charge without feeling funny astride a horse.’” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 20 October 2005, at page A12) Mr. Marcelo served as the Executive Secretary of the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal from 2007 to 2010. He was also a Professor of Evidence and Trustee of Arellano University Law School from 2006 to 2008. On 19 September 2008, Atty. Marcelo was appointed as one of the four members of the World Bank’s new Independent Advisory Board (IAB), which provides advice on good governance and effective anti-corruption measures to the Bank’s President, Audit Committee and Department of Integrity. In 2009, the Asia Foundation engaged his services as an International Anti-Corruption Consultant to assist in the good governance and anti-corruption projects of the Mongolian Government. A recipient of the Crispin Llamado Scholarship Award, Mr. Marcelo graduated among the top ten of his class from the University of the Philippines College of law and placed 5th in the 1979 Bar Examinations. He is a member of the Pi Gamma Mu International Social Science Honor Society and the Order of the Purple Feather Honor Society. He previously served as the Chairperson of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ National Committee on Legal Aid and head of its Task Force on Child Abuse, as well as the Executive Editor of its Law Journal. He also served from 2009 to 2010 as the President of the Philippine Bar Association, the country’s oldest and largest voluntary organization of lawyers. In January 2008, he returned to private practice and was engaged by the largest local power utility to defend against a hostile take-over attempt by the government pension fund backed by one of the biggest companies in the country. Marcelo’s legal team successfully defended against the take-over attempt by winning crucial victories at the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. [GSIS vs. Court of Appeals, et al., 585 SCRA 680 (2009)] In 2009, the same Marcelo was again tapped by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) to prosecute the owner and officers of the Legacy group in the biggest bank fraud case in the country’s history. In 2013, Marcelo led his team of tax litigation experts in representing one of the country’s leading companies in the Court of Tax Appeals relating to a P7-billion tax collection suit, perhaps one of the country’s biggest tax case in recent years.

Jerry S. Coloma III has been recognized by international publications as a leading practitioner in corporate and commercial law in the Philippines. He advises prominent domestic and foreign companies on a broad range of commercial activities, such as mergers and acquisitions, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, corporate set-up, transaction structuring, contract negotiations, financing arrangements and securities transactions. He has advised a wide range of public and private companies across several industries, including utilities, water, construction, real estate, banking, engineering, healthcare, financing, education, fintech, media, and online retail. Mr. Coloma has helped clients close several groundbreaking deals, among which are the acquisition of utilities, banks, real estate companies, technology companies, and mining firms. His recent transactions include: (1) advising a publicly-listed utility and its operating subsidiaries on numerous joint venture projects with government-owned and controlled corporations (aggregate project cost in excess of Php5 Billion), (2) guiding a publicly-listed construction company in its real estate development transaction in a premiere development touted as the next investment hub (project cost of almost Php6 Billion), (3) helping a pioneer Philippine fintech startup in its obtention of Php1.5 Billion in additional investments, (4) advice on the acquisition by the education arm of a prominent Philippine conglomerate of a controlling-stake in a premiere university, (5) guiding a Philippine conglomerate in its Php2 Billion equity acquisition in a global online fashion retailer, and (6) advising a multinational electric company on Philippine Competition Law and other regulatory issues relating to its multibillion-peso acquisition of a domestic electronics company. Currently, Mr. Coloma is performing legal work for a public-private partnership with a project cost exceeding Php20 Billion involving various government agencies for the development of infrastructure projects in an up-and-coming region in the Philippines. He authored the Philippine entries to Merger Control 2018 (Law and Enforcement) in Getting the Deal Through and Philippines: Mergers & Acquisitions (3rd Edition) for The In-House Lawyer.

Mr. Corporal has extensive experience representing clients in the litigation and arbitration of disputes involving public utilities (power and water), telecommunications, mass media and technology, toll roads, investments, commercial contracts, banking, securities and antitrust issues. Mr. Corporal’s experience includes litigation or arbitration before and/or against regulatory agencies in the mentioned sectors, such as the National Telecommunications Commission, Toll Regulatory Board, National Water Resources Board, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System – Regulatory Office, Philippine Competition Commission and Energy Regulatory Commission. Mr. Corporal has also represented and assisted clients in arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce, Singapore International Arbitration Commission, Philippine Dispute Resolution Center and in Ad Hoc arbitrations. Mr. Corporal also represents clients in construction disputes before the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission, and works closely with clients (whether owner or contractor) involved in construction activities by assisting in pre-dispute negotiations that aid the clients by avoiding full-blown construction disputes. Mr. Corporal was recognized among the “Next Generation Partners,” or younger partners who “take on leadership roles in multiple legal matters,” and was recommended for the practice area of Dispute Resolution by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for 2021. Mr. Corporal was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1998 and is a member of the Makati City Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

Atty. Rashel Ann C. Pomoy is a Partner with more than six years of experience in litigation and dispute resolution. She is a member of the Firm’s Labor Group and Arbitration Practice Group.  Her noted representations with the Firm include securing back-to-back multi-million arbitral awards in domestic construction and international commercial arbitration; causing the dismissal of multiple cases filed against the Firm’s clients with the Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan; appearing as counsel for an heir in, arguably, the largest estate settlement case in the Philippines; and working with foreign counsel to have a case filed in New York against one of the biggest Philippine banks thrown out of court.  Rashel has extensive experience litigating single and multi-plaintiff cases before the National Labor Relations Commission. She also renders advisory work on employment concerns of various multi-national corporations and works closely with law firms in other jurisdictions.  She has written in a variety of legal publications particularly the Law Reviews and The Legal 500, and has conducted various seminars in labor and employment in the Philippines and abroad. She has also taught remedial law and civil law at the Centro Escolar University. Rashel is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration, the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. and the Philippine Institute of Arbitrators. She obtained her law degree from the University of the Philippines with a Dean’s Medal, and completed her undergraduate degree in Philosophy at the same university as magna cum laude.

Editha R. Hechanova leads the intellectual law practice of the HECHANOVA Group comprising of of Hechanova & Co., Inc. an intellectual property consulting firm handling trademark and patent prosecution, copyright and domain name registrations, product registration, management, valuation, searches, and other non-contentious aspect of intellectual property, where she is President/CEO. The contentious IP practice is handled by the other member firm, Hechanova Bugay Vilchez & Andaya-Racadio which specializes in enforcement, litigation, alternative dispute resolution, licensing corporate, immigration law and taxation. Editha graduated from the University of the East with a business degree, major in Accounting, magna cum laude. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She obtained her law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, and a Certificate in Strategic Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific. She is a Certified Patent Valuation Analyst (CPVA) by the Business Development Academy based in New Jersey, USA. She passed the Patent Agent Qualifying Examination (PAQE) in 2008 conducted by the IPOPHL, and is the immediate past president of the Association of PAQE Professionals, Inc. consisting of PAQE passers. She is an alumna of the South East Asia Patent Drafting Course (SEAD) conducted by the Federation des Conseils en Propriete Intellectuelle (FICPI), an international organization of patent and IP practitioners. She is currently the Vice-President of the IP Collegium, an organization of IP experts mainly in the ASEAN region, India and Brazil, sponsored by the Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation (JIPII). She is the Asia Pacific sub-committee chairperson of the Trademark Office Practice Committee (TOPC) of the International Trademark Association (INTA) for 2022-2023. Editha Hechanova has been cited by AsiaLaw as leading lawyer in IP in the Philippines from 2002-2018 and as Distinguished Practitioner for 2021 and 2022, ASIA IP Expert from 2013-2022, IP Star from 2014- 2022, Who’s Who Legal Trademarks from 2012-2022, Edition of World Trademark Review 1000 as the World’s Leading Trademark Professional for Enforcement and Litigation, and Prosecution and Strategy, and Asia Business Law Journal Philippines Top 100 Lawyers from 2019-2022. She was also named as Copyright Law Expert of the Year and Intellectual Property Law Representative in the Philippines by the Global Law Experts in 2022; and Trademark Prosecution Services Expert of the Year in the Philippines during the 2022 Lawyer Network Annual Awards. The Hechanova Group has been cited as winner of Philippines Law Firm Award for 2022/2023 for Intellectual Property Enforcement from the Asia Business Law Journal. For 2021/2022 the Hechanova Group won two Philippines Law Firm Awards for: Intellectual Property Enforcement and Intellectual Property Protection from the same publication. On March, 2022, HECHANOVA & CO., INC. was honored by the IPOPHL with a Special Citation as the Top Agent for Patent (2017-2021) and Top Industrial Design Agent (2017-2021) during THE 25th Anniversary of the IP Code. The Hechanova Group is ranked Tier 1 for the Philippines jurisdiction in the Copyright survey of Asia IP for 2023; the Philippines Patent Firm of the Year for the years 2020 & 2021, Asia IP Awards. In 2019, it was awarded the Philippines Copyright Firm of the Year, and in 2017, the Philippines Trademark Firm of the Year.