Ahead of the 1st Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections scheduled on 14 September 2026, Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIPs) convened the Regional Inter-Tribal Convention (RITC) on 24–25 August 2026 in Cotabato City to select their mandatory representatives to the BARMM Parliament. In accordance with the customary laws of the Blaan, Dulangan Menubu, Erumanen ne Menuvu, Higaonon, Lambangian, and Tëduray Indigenous Peoples, the RITC allowed the respective communities to select their mandatory representatives, as guaranteed by the Bangsamoro Organic Law. The RITC also served as a mechanism for the NMIPs to decide whether to adopt a rotation arrangement…

    University of the Philippines Assistant Professor Andre C. Palacios, who is also the Executive Director of the ASEAN Law Institute, chaired the opening session of the ASEAN Law Conference at the InterContinental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand on 21 July 2026. Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon delivered the opening session keynote address on the importance of arbitration to ASEAN. Four legal experts then discussed how their country has implemented the UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, also known as the New York Convention. Court of Appeal President Datuk Seri Abu Bakar bin Jais (Malaysia)…

Professor Elizabeth H. Aguiling-Pangalangan, the Philippine Representative for Children’s Rights to the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) and Head of the UP Institute of Human Rights(UP IHR) Child’s Rights Program, continued to serve as amicus curiae during the concluding oral arguments in Baluyot v. Antonio-Baluyot before the Supreme Court on 11 August 2026. The case presents a novel question of law of whether Philippine courts should recognize a foreign divorce decree obtained by two Filipino citizens, considering the absence of an absolute divorce law in the Philippines. While interpellating Solicitor…

    The UP Institute of International Legal Studies (IILS), together with the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS) and the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO), hosted the 2nd High-Level Roundtable on Trade, Climate, and Sustainable Development: Towards a Trade-Related Climate Strategy for a Climate-Resilient Philippines on 09 July 2026 at the Conference Room in Bocobo Hall, UP Law Center, Diliman, Quezon City. The event that featured six key sessions had over 90 representatives from key government agencies, including the Department of Energy, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Climate Change Commission,…

UP Workers and Employees Program's statement titled “On Wages, Rule of Law, and Social Justice"     The Workers and Employees Program (WEP) of the University of the Philippines Law Center has issued a statement on the Pasig City Regional Trial Court’s Temporary Restraining Order against the implementation of Wage Order No. NCR-27. Signed by individual faculty members and lawyers affiliated with WEP, the Statement presents the view that the issuance of the status quo ante order and the temporary restraining order is contrary to law, jurisprudence, and the Constitution. “The courts cannot say that they recognize social justice for…

Prof. Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan serves as amicus curiae in SC oral arguments on Baluyot v. Baluyot During the resumption of the hearing of oral arguments for the case of Baluyot v. Antonio-Baluyot on 28 July 2026, UP College of Law Professor and amicus curiae Elizabeth H. Aguiling-Pangalangan responded to questions from Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao.\ Professor Aguiling-Pangalangan explained that if the “Most Significant Relationship” approach is applied, it is the law of the United States, not the Philippines, that will govern, since it is the United States that is most closely connected to the case.  The case of Baluyot v.…