ASEAN LAW ASSOCIATION: Office Holders

Avelino V. Cruz

Mr. Cruz is a respected and experienced lawyer in Philippine corporate law and litigation, having served in the boardrooms of major Philippine companies, and is a recognized expert in the Philippine oil industry. On various occasions, he had assumed leadership positions in the Philippines’ principal law societies such as the Integrated Bar, the
Legal Management Council, the Citizens Legal Aid Society and, recently, as National Chairman of the Lawyers for Electoral Advancement & Democracy (LEAD).

He holds a degree of Bachelor of Laws, Magna Cum Laude from the San Beda College of Law, a Master of Laws degree from the University of Michigan, and was a Ford Fellow at the University of California, Berkely. At the age of 20, he received a special permit from the Philippine Supreme Court to take the national Bar Examinations and placed first, the youngest candidate in the history of the tests to assume that honor. In 1986, following the EDSA revolution, he served as legal adviser to then Vice President and Prime Minister Salvador H. Laurel. In that capacity, he served as head of the Working Committee (composed of Supreme Court Justices Reynato Puno and Minerva Reyes and Secretary
Fulgencio Factoran, Jr., as members), which drafted the “Freedom Constitution” that governed the Philippines from March, 1986 to February, 1987 when the 1987 Constitution took effect. In 2001, he was conferred the “Bedan of the Century” award on the occasion of the Centennial celebration of San Beda College in the Philippines.

Mr. Cruz is an accomplished classical pianist, and has composed the music for the “ALA Hymn” to be presented at the 25th anniversary celebration of ALA..