Atty. J.V. Emmanuel A. de Dios
Special Counsel | J_Victor.deDios@Romulo.com
(02) 849.2315

Mr. de Dios’ practice deals with a broad range of energy and commercial matters following his four year stint in the Philippine Department of Energy and Philippine National Oil Company.

Mr. de Dios was admitted to the Philippine Bar on May 10, 1991.

Practice
Mr. de Dios advises Philippine and foreign clients on energy projects including upstream and downstream oil and gas and power projects. His work includes transaction advise and dealings with independent power producers (IPPs), exploration and production (E&P) companies and downstream oil companies. His work includes representation of Shell Exploration Corp. in the Malampaya Gas to Power Project, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. for various issues, Mirant Philippines Corp. in power projects and other related matters.
In addition, Mr. de Dios has advised Philippine and foreign clients on capital markets transactions including international joint ventures and mergers and initial and secondary share offerings, representing different venture funds and international investors.

Professional Activities
Prior to joining the firm as Special Counsel, Mr. de Dios served as one of the youngest Undersecretaries (Deputy Minister) at the Philippine Department of Energy for three years where he supervised the Downstream Oil Industry and Natural Gas Industry.

He led the preparation of the country’s Philippine Energy Plan; supervised the downstream oil and gas industry; negotiated the Pandacan (Manila) oil depot scale-down, the first urban buffer zone for any oil depot; raised LPG and gas retail station safety standards; and organized the Philippine Natural Gas Office. He guided the promulgation of the implementing rules of the Philippine Power Sector Reform Law and the interim rules for the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry.

Mr. de Dios chaired several critical national energy initiatives, such as the natural gas pipeline projects, the natural gas vehicle program for public transport and the national oil contingency plan during the 2003 Iraq war.
He also played a significant role in regional energy diplomacy by forging bilateral cooperation in natural gas and downstream oil with India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the U.S. He was a speaker in various gas conferences, and was the national representative in the APEC Energy Working Group. He received a “Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Government Service” in January 2005.

He was the lead implementor of the reorganization of the Philippine Department of Energy, one of the most successful restructuring initiatives of any ministry in the Philippines which served as a template for the restructuring of other ministries in the National Government.

Mr. de Dios was the chairman of the board of publicly listed Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation, the national oil exploration company, from 2004 to 2005. He was also designated director of the National Power Corporation in 2001. He is currently a director of Davies Energy Systems, Inc., a Philippine energy service company (ESCO).

He has taught at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law and The Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law.

Education
Harvard Law School, 1994, Master of Laws (LL.M.)
Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, 1990, Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)
University of the Philippines, 1986, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)