MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives has named 10 out of a targeted 25 private prosecutors for the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The lawyers whose names were unveiled on Thursday, June 11, come from three law firms: PECABAR Law, which was founded by the late Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile; Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices; and Sapayan Lim Alvarez Ligutan (SALiGAL) Law.

PECABAR Law Firm

Marforth Fua finished law at the San Sebastian College in 2007 and ranked eighth in the bar exam that year. He is a former assistant presidential legal counsel to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and is currently senior partner and managing partner at PECABAR.

Erwin Matib got his law degree from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law in 2009. He is currently a partner at PECABAR Law and is the head of its special projects and tax departments. His expertise includes handling complex criminal cases involving graft, corruption, and bank fraud.

Justine Anne Lamarca also finished law at UP in 2011. Also a partner at PECABAR Law, she heads the litigation and research departments. She handles litigation across criminal, civil, commercial, and family law disputes.

James Bryan Ibrahim Alih graduated from the San Beda University College of Law in 2019, and subsequently finished an executive program on clinical legal education at Vermont Law and Graduate School in 2021. He is currently a senior associate at PECABAR Law. He also specializes in cases of fraud, graft, and corruption.

Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices

Perhaps the most recognizable name on the list, Lorna Patajo-Kapunan graduated from the UP College of Law in 1978. She is the founder of Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices. The celebrity lawyer has held various leadership posts through the years, and is an expert on litigation, intellectual property, licensing, franchising, corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, international humanitarian law, criminal law, family law, and estate law.

Sonya Margarita Benemerito-Castillo finished law at the San Beda University in 1994. She is a co-founder and senior partner at Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices. Her legal expertise includes litigation, civil law, family law, labor law, intellectual property, immigration, land registration, and criminal law.

Deanna Melissa Lorenzo-Singian obtained a law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2002. She is a junior partner at Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices, and is its corporate secretary. She specializes on litigation, arbitration, family law, estate law, corporate law, civil law, commercial law, environmental law, and labor law.

Lino Chris Kapunan finished law at Ateneo in 2006. He is a managing partner at the Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices. His expertise includes litigation of civil, criminal, corporate, and intellectual property cases.

Bettina Zamora also completed her law studies at Ateneo in 2009. A co-managing partner at the Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices, she specializes on litigation across family and estate law, civil and criminal law, environmental law, and labor law.

Sapayan Lim Alvarez Ligutan (SALiGAL) Law

Amando Virgil Ligutan, counsel of one of the impeachment complainants, graduated in 2009 from the UP College of Law, where he also currently teaches. He is also a law instructor at the University of San Jose-Recoletos and University of Cebu. His expertise includes labor law, remedial law, and public international law. – Rappler.com