Besting sixteen schools from around the country, the University of the Philippines College of Law emerged as the champion in the recently concluded National Moot Court Competition (NMCC) co-sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Philippine Red Cross. Hosted annually since 2005, the NMCC is an opportunity for law students to learn and become advocates for the law of armed conflict. In the course of the five-day competition hosted by the Manila Adventist College from September 23 to 27, the U.P. Law IHL Team argued the merits of a fictional case before the International Criminal Court and participated in other simulations prepared by the ICRC. The team overcame schools including Ateneo de Zamboanga University, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and Ateneo de Manila University, before meeting Batangas State University in the Final Round.

The UP Law IHL Team is composed of 1st Speaker Vanayan Odsey, 2nd Speaker Barzillai Banogon, and Alternate/Researcher Chinette Montenegro. Vanayan and Barzillai were recognized as 2nd and 3rd Overall Best Speakers, respectively, during the Preliminary Rounds of the competition. Vanayan was further recognized as the Best Speaker during the Final Round of the competition, which was held in the Supreme Court and judged by Court of Appeals Justice Pablito Perez, Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete, Atty. Lorna Kapunan, and Armed Forces Delegate of the ICRC, Mr. Andrew Bell. The team was also awarded 3rd Best Prosecution Memorial and came in 3rd during the IHL Role Play Challenge. The team was mentored by Professor Rommel J. Casis and Atty. Modesta Apesa H. Chungalao.

As the champion of the NMCC, U.P. Law will advance to the international rounds in Hong Kong in March 2020. Since the competition’s inception, U.P. Law has won the NMCC five times—the highest number of wins for any one school to date.