Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

It is my distinct honor to introduce to all of you our guest speaker

for tonight. Our guest speaker is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts,
Major in Communication Arts in Ateneo de Manila University. She
finished her Bachelor of Laws in University of the Philippines
Diliman in 1991, ranking number 15 in her class.
From early on, she was already involved in different organizations
which aimed to provide legal assistance and to uphold the rights
of our fellow countrymen. In 1990, she became a legal intern of
the Office of Legal Aid of UP College of Law. She then
became the Legal Consultant of The Jesuit Refugee Services
Legal Assistant Project in 1991 and the Legal Consultant and
Vice Chairperson of the Coconut Industry Reform Movement,
Inc. in 1993. She also became a volunteer lawyer and legal officer
of different non-governmental organizations like Kaisahan Tungo
sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan,
Kanlungan (Center for Migrant Workers), Refugee Services
Philippines, Inc., Office of the Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process, Institute of Human Rights of the UP Law
Center and The Balay Mindanaw Foundation Inc. to name a
few.
Unknown to the new breed of interns, our guest speaker was once
a professor in Xavier University College of Law, teaching subjects
like International Human Rights and Constitutional Law.
In 1997, then Dean of the College of Law, Justice Romulo V. Borja
appointed our guest speaker as the first Executive Director of
XUCLA. In fact, it was actually during her time when XUCLA saw
the development of its core programs, namely formation, legal-aid
and advocacy.

At present, our dear guest speaker is now with the Judiciary. She
is the presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 40.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us all welcome, the former Executive
Director of XUCLA, HON. MARIA CORAZON B. GAITE
LLANDERAL!