Upon the invitation of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Engineering, ACCRALAW Senior Partner Patricia-Ann T. Prodigalidad and Partner Chrysilla Carissa P. Bautista joined the panel on “Forensic Engineering and Litigation”. Ms. Prodigalidad and Ms. Bautista currently teach Evidence and Criminal Procedure, respectively, in the UP College of Law. Also in the panel is Atty. Sandra Olaso-Coronel, a fellow faculty from the UP College of Law.
Forensic engineering is a growing field in the Philippines. It involves the application of engineering principles in performing a failure analysis of a certain product, machine, structure, or process. It looks into the components, design, and installation of materials. It is not uncommon that engineers are engaged to provide their expert opinion in the resolution of disputes. Thus, it is of interest to engineering students to understand the basic concepts in evidence, including the rules applicable to expert witnesses, and an overview of the conduct of trial.
The talk was attended by members of the faculty of the UP College of Engineering and their students and students from the UP College of Law.
Ms. Prodigalidad is consistently recognized as one of the leading litigation lawyers in the Philippines. She has also acted as an arbitrator in domestic and international commercial disputes, both institutional and ad hoc, as well as in Philippine construction arbitration cases. She is an accredited arbitrator of the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC), the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (PDRCI) where she currently serves as Trustee and Corporate Secretary and the Philippine Office of ADR (OADR). She is a part of the arbitrator panels of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution of the American Arbitration Association.
Ms. Bautista is also a trained litigator with extensive experience in civil, commercial, and environmental litigation. Leveraging on her litigation background, she has expanded her practice to advise clients on investments, mergers and acquisitions, and establishment of branch offices, representative offices, and subsidiaries in the Philippines.