Name of most senior in-house lawyer: Idesa L. Roxas – De Jesus 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

In partnership with REPCO and AboitizPower, ADI launched Project Arkanghel for the development of digital twins for AboitizPower’s existing circulating fluidised bed coal-fired power plants in Davao City and Toledo City. The project aims to streamline data collection and review for asset health monitoring and predictive maintenance. It is the first of its kind in the Philippines. 

In collaboration with the National Privacy Commission (“NPC”), the Philippine data privacy regulator, ADI entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the NPC to build the first regulatory sandbox in the country, with an aim to promote the development, adoption, experimentation, and testing of innovative privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) upon use cases on sandbox environments. 

How do you see the role of in-house legal teams evolving in the Philippines over the next five-ten years 

What can be said for certain is that the legal profession will continue to evolve just as it always has and artificial intelligence (AI) is for better or for worse, a part of that equation. For in-house counsels, AI has proven to be a very powerful tool allowing us to do our work much faster; from legal research to preparing simple documents, AI has augmented our capabilities and enhanced our internal processes, transforming the way we work. In the not-so-distant future, as we continue to understand and trust what AI can do for us, the integration of AI in work processes will become commonplace. Mundane and mechanical tasks will become automated and in-house legal teams will be able to devote more attention to work that truly matters to the organization. Ultimately, we decide whether to move with the times and take advantage of the opportunities that AI offers, or stay in place and let natural selection take over.