FACULTY Atty. Nicanor Jimeno Labor Relations / Labor Standards / Torts and Damages With his witty remarks, great sense of humor, and charming looks, rest assured that there can never be a dull moment in his class. Atty. Jimeno is well loved by his students, even though he tends to assign numerous reading materials and cases every meeting. A self-confessed “audiophile, vinyl, and analog freak”, he first dreamt of being a medical representative because he wanted to see the Philippines. Apparently, he has gone a long way from that fantasy, because he unexpectedly ended up being one of the most sought after labor experts in the law profession. As a professor, he expects his students to hurdle the bar examinations without much difficulty. For him, although he cannot win every case, winning is one of the perks of the profession, but sadly, “you can’t win them all.”
Commissioner Rene Sarmiento Political Law Review / Legal Philosophy
With the wisdom gained from his experience in law practice and in public service, COMELEC Commis-
sioner Rene Sarmiento serves as a perfect role model to aspiring lawyers. He graduated with a Political Science degree, Magna Cum Laude, from San Beda Mendiola. He entered the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1978. As an active member of the bar, he has contributed primers, essays, speeches and articles on justice, law and human rights in the publication The Lawyers Review. Recently, he authored the following books: Grow in Grace and Govern in Wisdom (Readings in Legal Philosophy), Towards More Justice and More Liberty (Understanding Writ of Amparo and Habeas Data), and We, The Sovereign Filipino People (Compendium of Seven Philippine Constitutions). He currently teaches Political Law Review to fourth year studets at San Beda Alabang School of Law and San Beda College of Law Mendiola. Commissioner Sarmiento’s sage advice to his students: Never rest on one’s laurels; the quest for self-improvement is a never-ending process.
Atty. Melanie Trinidad Criminal Law I / Insurance Law A professor as radiant and cheerful as Atty. Trinidad is certainly hard to miss. However, there’s more to her than a warm smile, friendly disposition and elegant wardrobe. As a law professor with ten years of legal practice in Criminal and Labor laws two fields close to her heart, she articulates these topics with relish and intensity. She describes her nearly three years of teaching as a “tremendously enjoyable” experience of educating students as well as learning from them. As a parent, she balances the demands of working as both managing partner of a private law firm and being a doting mother to her children. But as serious as she is about her career, Atty. Tinidad has a great sense of humor – in fact, she pictures herself as a stand-up comedienne had she not pursued law.
Judge Wilhelmina Wagan Criminal Law I / Civil Procedure / Evidence Judge Wagan completed her bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the Divine World University in Tacloban City (1989) and pursued a Bachelor of Laws at the San Beda College of Law (1993). She had her short stint in private practice before being asked by Associate Justice Romeo Callejo, to become a Court Attorney IV at the Office of the Court of Appeals (1994), where she served for six y. She barecame a Judge of the MTC in Calamba which was then merely a municipality and was promoted as a City Judge of the MTCC in the young city of Calamba for five years. Since 2006 the lady judge presides in the RTC of Pasay City. Teaching has also been her passion. She teaches Criminal Law I, Civil Procedure and Evidence at San Beda College Alabang School of Law.