PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has formally named lawyer Florin Hilbay as the government's main lawyer.
Hilbay has been serving as acting Solicitor General, since he replaced Francis Jardeleza, who was designated Associate Justice of the Supreme Court last year. His appointment as solicitor general was made on June 16.
A professor at the University of the Philippines (UP), Hilbay was senior state solicitor when he defended the Reproductive Health Law before the Supreme Court in 2013.
Among the cases he had handled are those on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Hilbay has also served as director of the Institute of Government and Law Reform of the UP Law Center, and as vice chairman of Bantay Katarungan.
He received his degree in economics from the University of Santo Tomas in 1995 and his law degree from UP in 1999. He topped the 1999 Bar Exams.
Hilbay obtained his Master of Laws degree from the Yale Law School in 2005. (SDR/Sunnex)