ATTY./ENGR. ALVIN T. CLARIDADES

 

 

 

Alvin Talag Claridades belonged to the first batch of law students, originally made up of 23 “plucky pioneers” who enlisted when the PUP College of Law opened in 2001. He was a founding officer of the PUP Law Students Society, Inc. (PULSO), the forerunner of the current PUP Law Student Council.

 

He was also the first editor-in-chief of “Lex Novus”, the official student organ of the college which first saw print in 2003. Likewise, he was a contributor of the “Law Review” of the college the maiden issue of which came off the press in May 2005.

 

Also a registered civil engineer by profession, he had his first job as an engineering aide at the Department of Public Works and Highways – Third Metro Manila Engineering District (DPWH-TMMED) based in Malabon, Metro Manila from 1988 to 1992. In between his working time and private errands, he tried to find time to write articles, essays and. at times, poems. He edited community newspapers like “Pahayagang Obando”, “Tinig”, “Parish Newsette”, Balitang CROWD” and “Pascualian”, contributed to “Pilipino Reporter” magazine and had some of his opinion writings published in national dailies like “Malaya”, “We Forum”, “Inquirer”, “Philippine Star”, “Manila Times”, “Manila Standard”, “Balita” and “Today”.

 

At present, he is connected with the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), an attached agency of the Office of the President of the Philippines currently chaired by Vice President Jejomar C. Binay. He has been holding the position of Director IV of the Asset Reform Group (ARG) since 2007.

 

Atty./Engr. Claridades hails from the suburban town of Obando (which has been renowned for its 3-day fertility dance festival in May for childless couples in honor of its three patron saints, namely: San Pascual Baylon, Sta. Clara and Nuestra Señora de Salambao), in the historic province of Bulacan.

 

At a young age of 27, he ran and was elected municipal councilor of the Sangguniang Bayan ng Obando and served as such from 1992 to 1995. Overly idealistic, the activist in him got him disheveled into many political skirmishes and tussles that nearly made him vulnerable to threats of all kinds. More disillusioned than petrified, he hung up his “political gloves” for good after his term was over in June 1995.

 

Atty./Engr. Claridades earned his undergraduate degree at the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) in Manila in 1986 as a scholar of the Secretary Guillermo De Vega Memorial Scholarship grant. A ghostwriter for the local chapter of the League of Filipino Students (LFS), he exposed the repressive anti-student policies of the martial law regime. He was also an active student leader and founded the Leaders’ Alliance for a Genuine, Democratic and Autonomous Student Council (LAGDA-SC). When not donning his militant hat then, he was actively participating in extra-curricular campus activities. He was a bemedalled essayist, extemporaneous and impromptu speaker, quiz bee winner and a math wizard as well.

 

In 1999, he pursued graduate studies at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) as a scholar of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and completed his academic requirements leading to the degree of Master in Public Administration (MPA) in just three (3) semesters and with a General Weighted Average of 1.02. However, while in the thick of preparations for his masteral thesis, the PUP College of Law was born in June 2001 and opened its doors to would-be law students. Not wanting to pass up the chance of finally fulfilling his cherished dream of becoming a member of the august profession, he tried his luck.

 

And the rest, as the popular cliché goes, was history.

 

After graduating in May 2006 and embarking on a cramped review timetable, Atty./Engr. Claridades took and passed that year’s bar examination, thus becoming one of the first eight (8) lawyers produced by the then fledgling PUP College of Law. He was eventually invited by the college to be a member of its faculty and has been teaching therein since 2010, handling subjects such as Legal Writing, Legal Forms, Environmental Law, Statutory Construction, Agrarian Reform and Civil Procedure.

 

He may be reached via Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.