Introduction of Keynote Speaker on Strengthening the Rule of Law By Mr.

Julian Payne President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Managing Director, SEAREP Limited Friends of Arangkada, distinguished guests, corporate and business association sponsors, my name is Julian Payne, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. We have just learned a great deal from the speaker and panelists in our first panel discussion. Now we will shift to a highly important topic that affects the lives of everyone in this room and indeed everyone in this country. Martin Luther King said Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, a statement I interpret as meaning each of us as global citizens is personally affected by injustices outside our more communities. From this perspective we approach the need for better rule of law in the Philippines. We often hear and read about negatives in the Philippine judicial sector, about slow justice, corrupt courts, and controversial decisions. In fact - while such problems certainly continue significant judicial reform is ongoing. This is recognized by the rating of the World Economic Forum Efficiency of Legal Framework in Settling Disputes (see page 207 in Part 4: Judicial of the Arangkada Assessment), which has improved by over one-third since 2010 and shows the Philippines ahead of Vietnam and catching up with Malaysia and Indonesia. On behalf of my colleagues in the Joint Foreign Chambers, it is my honor to welcome and to introduce the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Maria Lourdes Sereno to address us on Strengthening the Rule of Law.

The Arangkada Philippines Project (TAPP)

www.arangkadaphilippines.com

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Australian-New Zealand

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Philippine Association of Multinational Companies RHQs/RoHQs

Chief Justice Sereno is the 24th Chief Justice and, as one of the youngest, will not reach mandatory retirement until 2030. She may thus have two decades to initiate and implement the reforms she will talk about today and others in the future. The Chief Justice shares with our earlier speaker Director General de Lima being a child of a public school teacher and advancing her career through academic and professional hard work and success. Valedictorian of her UP College of Law class in 1984, she has worked in a large law firm, taught for two decades at the University of the Philippines, was Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights, worked on trade issues at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, was the only woman appointed to the 1999 Preparatory Commission on Constitutional Reform, and was executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center. Chief Justice Sereno found time to earn a Masters of Law at the University of Michigan, becoming proficient in law and economics and international trade law. We now look forward with great interest to the keynote speech of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

The Arangkada Philippines Project (TAPP)

www.arangkadaphilippines.com

American

Australian-New Zealand

Canadian

European

Japanese

Korean

Philippine Association of Multinational Companies RHQs/RoHQs