PHILIPPINES Trends and Developments
Trends and Developments Contributed by: Valeriano Del Rosario and Maria Francesca Bautista VeraLaw VeraLaw is a Manila-based full-service law firm. The Maritime and Admiralty team consists of two partners, five assisting lawyers and two pa - ralegals. They are shipping litigators who han - dle both civil and admiralty matters. A part of the shipping team attends administrative pro - ceedings for ships involved in pollution and en - vironmental damage claims, and collision inves - tigations, while the other specialises in maritime labour/crew claim issues and proceedings. The shipping team’s specialised lawyers also han - dle instructions for matters that can be broadly described as maritime enterprises, such as for -
mation of companies for ship and crew man - agement, vessel registration and deregistration, and processing of permits with the Maritime In - dustry Authority and the Department of Migrant Workers, which regulates the employment of seafarers overseas. In February 2023, the MT “Princess Empress” oil spill occurred, and her club appointed VeraLaw, which deployed four lawyers. Subsequently, in 2024, the MT “Ter - ranova” capsized, threatening to spill over 1.4 million litres of oil. VeraLaw capably handled the matter given its lawyers’ previous experience in oil spills.
Authors
Valeriano Del Rosario is managing partner of VeraLaw, and has extensive education and business experience in the US and Europe. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in
Maria Francesca Bautista is a managing associate and assistant to the managing director, Valeriano Del Rosario, who heads VeraLaw’s maritime and admiralty team. Along with
1982. He obtained a master’s degree in maritime law from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, and he started his shipping career doing LOF salvage arbitration with the firm of Sinclair Roche and Temperley in the City of London. He remained with that firm for three years, then returned to the Philippines to join his father’s firm, where he started his shipping practice in Manila. He is a shipping law specialist and has acted for the 4,000 victims of the MV “Doña Paz” sinking.
the firm itself being award-winning, Francesca has herself been personally recognised. She is also a key member of the firm’s insurance team. Outside of her core specialisations, she continues to assist the firm’s partners in various corporate and special projects, complex arbitration cases and intellectual property matters.
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