PBA elects new set of officers

The Philippine Bar Association (PBA), the country’s oldest organization of volunteer lawyers, has elected its new set of officers for 2005-2006.

Hector Martinez, a 1964 bar topnotcher who obtained his master’s degree at the Harvard Law School, will officially take his oath of office as president on Sept. 23.

Martinez, a partner at the Platon, Martinez Flores, San Pedro and Leaño Law Offices, will join the ranks of distinguished past PBA presidents like former Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, former Sen. Lorenzo Tanada and former Sen. Claro Recto.

Outgoing PBA president Rita Linda Jimeno will turn over the presidency to another alumnus of the University of the Philippines Law School.

Jimeno’s term focused on advocacy for environmental protection, dependable and quality free legal services and prosecution of high profile cases. She spearheaded a campaign against illegal waste disposal practices and garbage mismanagement in Metro Manila and in the countryside, which led to the filing of charges against three mayors for violations of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. — Michael Punongbayan