QC Hall exec elected IBP president

Lawyer Victoria Loanzon, special assistant to Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., has been elected president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines—QC Chapter, in elections held at the QC Hall Lobby last Feb. 26.

Loanzon, who ran as an independent, won by a margin of 101 votes over her nearest rival, lawyer Teresita Oledan, becoming the first woman to be elected president of IBP’s premier chapter.

Prior to her election, Loanzon was a chapter board member, garnering the second highest number of votes in last year’s polls. She will formally assume the post on April 1.

The IBP-QC Chapter has about 7,000 members but only 2,600 are qualified to vote. Belmonte, an active member, also voted in last week’s election.

In his congratulatory remarks, the mayor described Loanzon’s victory as "a fitting gift to the centennial celebration of the feminist movement."

Other officers elected were Mariano Santiago, vice president; Rosalina Datiles, secretary; Elpidio Soriano III, treasurer, Rogelio Mendoza, PRO, and Gerardo Ramiro, auditor. Constituting the board of directors were Tranquil Salvador, Christian Fernandez, former labor secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, Rodelle Bolante and Melvyn Mendoza.

Loanzon graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines, College of Law, where she obtained her degree in Bachelor of Laws. She also completed an international course in Planning, Housing and Building at Bouwcentrum, Rotterdam, the Netherlands and her masteral in Urban-Regional Planning, from the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning.

She earned a degree in Liberal Arts major in Sociology from Miriam College, where she graduated cum laude.