The UP Law Complex Institute for the Administration of Justice (IAJ) held a Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) program titled, “Yeah I’m the Taxman: A Taxation Law-Focused MCLE,” from April 27 to 30, 2026. Conducted in a hybrid format, the MCLE gathered 231 legal professionals for a practice-oriented and interdisciplinary discussion on contemporary taxation law and policy in the Philippines.

Through a progression of themes delivered by 20 distinguished speakers from the judiciary, executive branch, leading law firms, and the academe, the program aimed to contextualize and deepen the understanding of taxation through institutional realities, practice, empirical data, and on-the-ground experiences from key actors in the country’s tax ecosystem.

The first day focused on the past, present, and trajectory of the structural foundations of Philippine taxation from the lens of lecturers from the academe, tax practice, Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), and the Department of Finance (DOF). The following day’s topics bore the practical realities of tax investigations and litigation from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the CTA side. The succeeding day offered a counterbalance to the previous sessions, featuring taxpayer remedies and dispute resolution mechanisms afforded by law, featuring practitioners and the BIR. To cap the program, the final day shifted focus toward ethical tax practice, as well as trends in international taxation and tax administration modernization.

The program featured the following speakers in chronological order:

1. Atty. Luis Ferrer, UP Law Lecturer and retired Tax Partner and Head of Tax Services of SGV & Co.
2. Atty. Martin Mijares, UP Law Lecturer and Senior Partner and Name Partner of Salvador Llanillo & Mijares
3. Atty. Edwin Abella, UP Law Lecturer and Chairman and Managing Partner of Edwin R. Abella and Associates
4. CTA Justice Marian Reyes-Fajardo
5. DOF Assistant Secretary Juvy Danofrata
6. BIR Head Revenue Executive Assistant Atty. Juanito Balbastre III
7. BIR Deputy Commissioner Marissa Cabreros, UP Law lecturer
8. CTA Justice Lanee Cui-David
9. CTA Justice Jean Marie Bacorro-Villena
10. CTA Justice Catherine Manahan (retired)
11. Atty. Maria Theresa San Pablo-Llamado, CAZLA Law Taxation Department Head
12. BIR Deputy Commissioner Larry Barcelo
13. Atty. Maria Louella Aranas, LMA Law Managing Partner
14. Atty. Virginia Viray, UP Law Lecturer and PJS Law Senior Partner
15. Atty. Charadine Bandon, UP Law Lecturer and Ortiz & Bandon Law Founding Partner
16. Atty. Carina Laforteza, UP Law Lecturer and SyCip Law Tax Department Head
17. Judge Christina Barroga, MTC Bocaue, Bulacan
18. DOF Undersecretary Bayani Agabin
19. Prof. Bruno da Silva, Senior International Tax Lawyer and World Bank consultant
20. BIR Deputy Commissioner Charo Enriquez-Curiba

Through the MCLE program, the IAJ reaffirms the UP Law Center’s commitment to providing responsive, relevant, and interdisciplinary continuing legal education for the legal profession. For more information on the Taxation Law-focused MCLE, please visit https://mcle.law.upd.edu.ph/. (By Atty. Senando Angelo Santiago with Agatha Beatrice Belen and Samantha Subida)