Cesar P Manalaysay

Cesar P Manalaysay is the Managing Partner and a General Partner at Siguion Reyna, Montecillo & Ongsiako. He joined the firm in 1975. Mr Manalaysay’s practice includes litigation, arbitration and corporate.

He has 45 years’ experience in corporate litigation before the Securities & Exchange Commission and Regional Trial Courts, as well as appellate practice before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. He handled intra-corporate controversies involving struggles for control of some of the largest publicly listed companies in the Philippines, and engaged in fields as diverse as universal banking, food manufacturing, telecoms, mining, oil exploration and real estate holdings. For 10 years, he was part of the team that handled Philippine legal issues for Fraport A.G. of Germany in connection with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal III (NAIA III) arbitration suit, at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) 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 also 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 MW) power generation project in the Philippines and assisted clients on BOT Light Rail and Subway Transportation Systems. He assisted Unilever to establish an ice cream business in the Philippines through a joint venture arrangement, and also helped in its acquisition and sale of other businesses. He has advised Nestle Philippines on sales, distribution and other related matters.

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 defended the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in a lawsuit arising from its refusal to list the shares of a real estate company despite approval by the Securities & Exchange Commission. The Supreme Court affirmed PSE’s authority to deny listing. He further assisted a Bermuda company that has interests in manufacturing plants in the Philippines to list in the Singapore Stock Exchange.

He holds several directorship and/or officer positions in key companies, such as: The Thomson (Philippines) Corporation; Amicus Realty, Inc.; Siemens, Inc.; Siemens Power Operations, Inc.; Omni Aviation Inc.; Atos IT Solutions & Services Inc.; XBS Disposition Subsidiary Philippines, Inc.; Lakelands Country Club, Inc.; as well as Muntinlupa Development Foundation.