Professional Background

Avelino J. Cruz Jr. is a name partner specializing in Dispute Resolution; Corporate & Special Projects; and Administrative Law.

He previously served as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Acting Executive Secretary in the Office of the President of the Philippines.

Thereafter, he also served as Secretary of National Defense, where he brought a fresh civilian perspective to address the challenges faced by our country’s defense and military establishments. He was widely credited for introducing fundamental, comprehensive, and institution-wide reforms through the Philippine Defense Reform program. His unblemished stint in public service and record of success in the defense department have become benchmarks upon which others who followed have been measured.

Some of the groundbreaking reform initiatives started by his leadership have become the foundation of wide-ranging public sector reforms currently being undertaken.

Cruz acted as counsel to Presidents Fidel V. Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during the 1992, 1998 and 2004 presidential and vice-presidential elections, respectively. He later served as counsel for Benigno Aquino III and Manuel A. Roxas II in the 2010 and 2016 presidential and vice-presidential elections and was Chairman of Robredo for a Better Philippines during the 2022 presidential election.

He served as a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Multisectoral Governance Council from 2014 to 2022.

He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1991 and was a bar examiner in commercial law in the 1995 Philippine Bar Examinations. Cruz served as President of the Philippine Bar Association. He is concurrently the President of the University of the Philippines Law Alumni Foundation, Inc. and the Justice George Malcolm Memorial Foundation, Inc., both organized by prominent alumni of the UP College of Law.

Cruz graduated cum laude and salutatorian from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1977 and placed 7th in the bar examinations. As a student leader during martial law, he served as president of the University of the Philippines Law Student Government and the Student Council of the Ateneo de Manila University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.

Previous Government Positions

• Secretary, Department of National Defense (August 2004 to November 2006)
• Chairman, ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (2006)
• Chairman, National Disaster Coordinating Council (August 2004 to November 2006)
• Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Office of the President of the Philippines (January 2001 to January 2004)
• Acting Executive Secretary

Prior Professional Works & Affiliations

• Founding Partner, Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco (CVCLAW)
• President, Philippine Bar Association

Awards