By Ella Isabel Abad, Ryan Julianne Monzon, and Melody Jade Soriano
There is inspiration in realizing that the newest faculty members for the second semester of academic year 2025-2026 were once regular students just like us – stayed in the same classrooms, dealt with the same anxiety during recitations, and faced the same uncertainties of the future.
Now, they return to the classroom not as students but lawyers stepping into their roles as stewards of Bedan education. From them, we witness that the title ‘Atty.’ is not given, but earned.
Labor Law Luminary: Atty. Neptali Salvanera
Atty. Neptali “Jojit” Salvanera is a Senior Partner at ACCRA Law. He graduated in San Beda in 1999 and is currently teaching Labor Law and Social Legislation. He authored four books on Labor Law, aimed at codifying the various sources of labor laws to help student learning.
Atty. Salvanera’s passion is to teach, but he pursued law to fulfill his parents’ lifelong dream to be a lawyer. “Labor law is very human. You deal with real disputes, livelihoods, and sometimes difficult workplace situations, so it can be very meaningful,” he shared.
Teaching in his alma mater is not a career move but a calling to give back. “More than anything, I want to leave a legacy in San Beda – not in the sense of recognition, but in the lives of the students I will help form. A legacy of lawyers who are principled, compassionate, and committed to justice,” he said.
Atty. Salvanera observed law students today are energetic and creative. However, he emphasized that the practice of law demands discipline, patience, and honesty. A big pitfall in law school is complacency, so he reminds his students that while cutting corners may be tempting, it ultimately undermines the qualities that make a good lawyer.
He places a premium on values, stressing that “cases may end, but the way you touch lives and uphold justice will always endure.” As a final note, Atty. Salvanera reminds law students today: “Carry your Bedan values proudly, and let them guide you in every step of your career.”
Driven by Commitment: Atty. Yna Marei Aguilar
Atty. Yna Marei Aguilar entered the legal profession after passing the 2022 Bar Examinations. A proud working student, she graduated as valedictorian of Class of 2022 from San Beda Law four years ago, soldiering the demanding deliverables at work by day and the grueling readings and studying by night. Now as a professor, she teaches Criminal Law 2 to first year students.
Excellence Beyond Practice: Atty. Richard Armand Angeles
Atty. Richard Armand Angeles graduated cum laude with a degree in Accountancy and passed the 2012 CPA Board Examinations before entering law school in 2013. Despite coming from a background that did not emphasize reading or public speaking, he steadily found his rhythm and graduated third in his batch from San Beda Law in 2017. Now, he serves as Legal Officer IV at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Beyond his legal profession, he also pursues an athletic life as a triathlete, marathoner, mountaineer, and freediver.
In his return to San Beda, Atty. Angeles shared how meaningful it was for him to walk in the halls alongside his former classmates and seatmates, Atty. Lyan David Juanico and Judge Carl Ron F. Villamil, now as fellow members of the faculty. Currently, he teaches Constitutional Law II.
When Law Meets Medicine: Atty. Kristienne Apostol
Atty. Kristienne Apostol is a Partner for the firm Apostol Mamenta & Mundin and a Medico-Legal Officer at the Philippine Heart Center. She teaches Medical Jurisprudence and Legal Medicine in the College of Law, a bridge between her two disciplines.
Atty. Apostol grew up with a clear goal of becoming a doctor. In her third year of medical school at De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences, her Medical Jurisprudence professors gave her an alternative, fascinating her with how law confronts and resolves complex problems with reasoning. “After dipping my toes in as many aspects of the medical practice… I realized that my true calling lay not in the clinic, but in the world of law,” she recalled. She later earned her Master of Science in Forensic Medicine from the University of Florida, USA.
In law school, Atty. Apostol recalled thinking that her first recitation under Atty. Adonis Gabriel was a massive failure, but she was not deterred. Instead, she was challenged. “It very rapidly introduced me to the new kind of beast I’d have to tame after having tamed the beast that was medical school,” she shared.
When an opportunity to teach in San Beda came knocking on her door, she quickly grabbed it. Ate Nancy of the Dean’s office told Atty. Apostol, “Sabi ko sa’yo, darating ka rin dito.” as she stepped into the Dean’s Office as a professor. She regarded teaching law at her alma mater a tremendous honor. “I was not going to take even five seconds to say yes.”
Finding Hope in Human Systems: Atty. Alimar Mohammad Malabad
Atty. Alimar Mohammad Malabad is a Senior Associate at Poblador Bautista & Reyes. He graduated in San Beda Law in 2019 and was admitted to the Bar in 2020. At present, he teaches Administrative Law and Law on Public Officers at San Beda and Political Law Review in the University of Nueva Caceres.
During his stay in San Beda, Atty. Malabad balanced his academic and extra-curricular activities well; finishing third in his batch while being a Tan Yan Kee Foundation scholar, Public International Law Cup Best Oralist, Associate Editor of the Law Journal, and member of the Legal Aid Bureau.
Atty. Malabad shared that litigation will test a person’s values and ideals. As a young lawyer, he worked on a broadcast franchise case that was eventually shut down. He explained that even when the system frustrates him, integrity and humility helped him persevere in his legal journey.
“Our judicial system faces a lot of challenges because it’s a human institution… But I am part of the administration of justice. I am human and therefore I can do my best to thrive and make this system work,” he shared.
As advice to students aspiring to become a litigator like him, he emphasized the importance of developing the following skills: legal writing and research, attention to detail, familiarity with facts, and communication skills.
In Pursuit of Higher Education: Atty. Maricar Marquez–Manansala
Atty. Maricar B. Marquez-Manansala is an esteemed member of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Board of Regents. She graduated from San Beda Law in 2003 and was admitted to the bar in the same year. Atty. Marquez-Manansala also earned her Doctorate in Law at the same institution in 2023.
Standing Head-on in Truth and Law: Atty. Christine Monderin
A graduate of San Beda Law in 2019, Atty. Christine Monderin currently serves as a Senior Associate at the renowned firm ACCRA Law, specializing in litigation and dispute resolution. In her alma mater, she mentors future lawyers by teaching Agency, Trust, and Partnership Law.
In her first year in law school, she focused heavily on academics but learned to balance academic rigor with extracurricular involvement in the years that followed. She became active in the International Law Society, participating in moot court competitions from 2016 until graduation, supported Bedan bar examinees in the Centralized Bar Operations, and earned the opportunity to serve on the editorial board of the San Beda Law Journal.
Atty. Monderin looks back on her journey with no regrets. She advised law students to strike a balance between academics and social life, recognizing that the demands in law school but still fostering personal growth.
Resilience is Built, Not Born: Atty. Reynold Orsua
Atty. Reynold Orsua is a lawyer at the Supreme Court. He graduated from San Beda in 2015 and passed the bar in 2016. Before joining the country’s highest court, he was a litigation lawyer for 10 years. Currently, he teaches Criminal Law 2.
Recalling his law school journey, Atty. Orsua shared that he experienced culture shock when he entered law school as a probinsyano from Pampanga. When at least five students dropped in a month, he thought to himself that giving up was not an option. This proved fruitful when he cross-examined a seasoned prosecutor as a law student practitioner in legal aid.
“That’s when I felt like this is how it feels to be a lawyer, even if it’s just like student practice,” he shared.
Atty. Orsua pursued his Masters at the Stanford Law School. His exposure to foreign justice systems showed him how innovation can promote access to justice and ensure speedy delivery of justice.
This experience led him to advocate for his students to think critically about the law. “Apart from knowing what the law is, I give them certainty to also think and reflect whether the law is still just, whether the law is still relevant,” he shared.
THE BARRISTER 