AFTER what seemed like an eternity of a power struggle, the court has at last decided on the issue of who is the legitimate president of the Philippine Women's College of Davao.
The Regional Trial Court Branch 10 rulings dated February 5 and 11, 2026, showed that Mr. Emmanuel Canivel's presidency has a legal basis; thus, he is the true PWC president. The court also ratifies the resolutions passed by the legitimate Board of Trustees on February 18, 2023, which revoked Mr. Vicente Antonio V. Pijano III prior appointment as Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer.
In the February 5, 2026, decision of Case No: R-DVO-23-02238-CV for intra-corporate dispute, declaration of nullity, and injunction and damages filed by Mr. Canivel and the PWC, on May 2, 2023, the court, presided by Judge Retrina E. Fuentes, ruled that Ms Elizabeth San Pedro Lietz and others, as defendants, failed to defend the appointment of 19 individuals as new members of the PWC Corporation.
PWC Corporation members are the only legitimate individuals who can elect the members of the Board of Trustees, which, in turn, can elect the institution's president.
The court found that, prior to the controversy, there were only 14 valid members of the PWC Corporation and that the defendants’ appointment of 19 individuals as new members was null and void because it failed to comply with the PWC by-laws, which require nomination by a member of record and an affirmative vote of the majority of all members.
The court also ordered that the meeting conducted by the defendants on February 18, 2023 was null and void, as it failed to meet notice requirements provided in the by-laws of the institution. The Court maintained that the "defendants had no authority to organize a separate meeting to pursue their own agenda."
Consequently, the court ruled that the "election and/or appointment on February 18, 2023 of defendants Vicente Antonio V. Pijano III, Deogracia B. Corpuz, Alma Rose B. Bersano and Maria Alma G. Facto as Other Officers of PWC" was null and void.
Additionally, the General Information Sheet (GIS) dated February 18, 2023, filed by the defendants was declared null and void and given no legal force or effect.
GIS is among the crucial documents required by the institution’s banks to verify the valid signatories who can withdraw or transact funds.
Meanwhile, the Court upheld the validity of the meeting called by the majority of members (complainants’ group) on February 18, 2023. The court clarified that "while by-laws designate the Chairperson to preside, a meeting cannot be 'held hostage' by a chairperson who refuses to attend or cooperate if a quorum is present."
Ruling of Case #2, the quo warranto
Meanwhile, prior to the intra-corporate dispute case filed by the complainants in the case mentioned earlier, Ms. Lietz and Mary Jude Barba Icasiano filed a Quo Warranto Case (Case No. R-DVO-23-00415-SC) against Canivel and several Benetizes, including Ruby Benitez, Joachim Benitez, Karen Benitez, and Andreanna Benitez.
The quo warranto seeks to answer whether Mr. Canivel has the legal right to sit as PWC president.
However, the court dismissed the quo warranto case for being moot and academic against Mr. Canivel and for insufficiency of evidence against the remaining defendants.
The court explained that on the basis of the defendants' qualifications on residency, there was insufficient evidence to prove that Joachim, Karen, and Andreanna Benitez were non-residents of the Philippines, as the Special Powers of Attorney provided by Ms. Lietz and Ms. Icasiano, the plaintiffs, actually identified them as Filipinos, while on education of Ruby Benitez, the Court ruled there was no requirement in the PWC by-laws that a member must hold a bachelor's degree.
The court also declared that the October 20, 2022 meeting, called by Ms Lietz' group, was null and void because it was "conducted via video conference without meeting the 'unanimity' or 'principal office' requirements set by the by-laws when notice is not provided to all trustees."
Moreover, the December 9, 2022 meeting was also declared null and void "due to improper venue (Zoom) and failure to provide the required three-day notice. Consequently, Canivel's initial election as President during this meeting was invalid."
On the issue of mootness despite the invalidity of the December 2022 election, the Court found "the issue to be moot and academic, because Canivel resigned on February 18, 2023, and was subsequently re-elected by a new set of Trustees. Under the principle of mootness, an adjudication would serve no practical purpose as the contested status (the 2022 election) no longer existed."
PWC, moving forward
On March 2, 2026, Mr. Canivel delivered his first President's Speech during the PWC's General Assembly, after the RTC 10 ruling. In his speech, Canivel committed that his door is always open to students, faculty, and stakeholders.
"If you have concerns, bring them. If you have questions, ask them. My office will not be a place where you need permission to approach. Transparency. Decisions about this institution will be made through proper governance, and you will know how and why they are made. And stability. The disruption ends here. The focus returns to where it has always belonged -teaching, learning, and building the future of every student who walks through these gates," Canivel said.
He also assured the school administrators who continue doing their roles that he will not conduct a witch hunt.
"I am here to move forward. What I ask is simple: do your jobs with integrity, serve this community, and we will have no issues," he said.
He also acknowledged that the majority of the institutions were not responsible for what had happened, especially since most of them are only following the orders of their heads and supervisors.
"You did what you could with what you were given. I understand that, and I have no interest in holding it against you," he said.
Canivel also, time and time again, reiterated the significance of the Benitezes to the institution, acknowledging that it was Conrad Benitez, the past president of the PWC-Davao, who invited him to the institution "because he believed it was worth protecting."
"This college was founded on the belief that the women of this region deserved nothing less than the very best. That mission did not belong to any one administration. It belongs to all of us, every person, in this room," he said.
Meanwhile, Atty. Alro Paglinawan, one of the legal counsels of Canivel and the PWC, shared that the institution is currently hiring external auditors to assess the financial aspect to determine if there were any damages during the time when the other group was still handling the finances.
Simeon Marfori, one of the legally recognized members of the Board of Trustees, however, lamented the “slow wheels of justice” in the Philippines, noting that financial losses could have been minimized if the country had more courts dedicated to handling corporate disputes.
For now, the RTC Branch 10 is the only branch of court handling corporate disputes in the whole of Mindanao.
But in the meantime, Canivel emphasized that what they are focusing on right now is enhancing as well as expanding the programs of the academic institution.
"We will bring PWC to heights you have never seen before," he said.
Currently, the PWC has already given communications to the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Davao Colleges and Universities Network (Dacun), announcing that Mr. Pijano holds no position or authority at PWC, including as
Chancellor, Chief Operating Officer, or any other officer role.
“Mr. Pijano does not represent PWC to any body or institution. He does not speak for PWC and any action he has taken as Chancellor or Chief Operating Officer from February 18, 2023 onwards is not only illegal, but utterly null and void as declared by the court.”
Who is Canivel
In his introduction, Tomas Julio "TJ" Benitez, one of the PWC corporation members, acknowledged Canivel for his dedication to PWC-Davao.
"(He is) not someone who stumbled into this role. He was shaped for it, over the course of a lifetime... those who know him well will tell you the same thing: he is a man who shows up when it matters," he said.
Canivel, TJ Benitez narrated, started his academic journey at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he graduated on the Dean's List with a degree in Management Engineering and went on to earn his Master's in Business Management from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), with Distinction.
Canivel was also trained at Oxford University in Strategic Management, studied Financial Risk Management in London, Corporate Risk Management in Hong Kong, and Structured Trade Finance in Singapore.
"He is not a man who stopped learning when the classroom door closed behind him. For nearly three decades, he built one of the most distinguished careers in international banking. He served as Vice President at First Interstate Bank of California, then rose through Standard Chartered Bank across Asia, leading operations in Indonesia for fourteen years, before becoming Global Head of Bank Alliances for Financial Institutions worldwide, based in Singapore. He has worked across the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East, and beyond," TJ Benitez, the late Conrad Benitez's son, said.
Canivel is also currently an adjunct faculty member and mentor at the Asian Institute of Management. CEA
NOTE: Next part will be the background of the cases.