About Us

Practice Areas

Atty. Rhondee "Ron" E. Dumlao

School

With ten (10) years of combined experience as a Certified Public Accountant and Corporate and Tax Lawyer, and a former partner in one of the reputable law firms in BGC, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Atty. Dumlao established his own practice.

Atty. Dumlao started his career at SGV & Co. (Ernst & Young Philippines), where he was trained and obtained vast experience in the field of taxation. Among others, he performed tax due diligence; reviewed client’s tax position, practices and procedures to determine whether they comply with the tax laws; performed accrual reviews and audit support engagements; provided tax advisory; assisted in independent CPA verifications and attested to the correctness of refund; prepared income tax returns of individuals and corporations; and prepared US ITR and Federal Returns.

Atty. Dumlao also obtained extensive experience in taxation in one of the leading tax firms in the Philippines, where he represented multinational and publicly-listed entities from different industries such as business process outsourcing, real estate, shipping, toll way, beverage, oil and gas, among others; disputed tax assessments and claimed judicial refunds before the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Regional Trial Courts and the Court of Tax Appeals; acted as counsel for several PEZA and BOI-registered entities; obtained rulings from BIR; handled various tax treaty relief applications; performed tax compliance audits; advised companies on tax and corporate-related matters; assisted ROHQs for the closure of branch; handled settlement of estates; and assisted individuals and families in estate tax planning.

Atty. Dumlao is currently a consultant for various local and multinational companies on tax and corporate matters. He is also a resource speaker in tax seminars and currently a tax professor in University of Sto. Tomas.

Atty. Jon Exekiel N. Leveriza

School

Atty. Jon Exekiel N. Leveriza is a litigation and corporate lawyer who obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law and became a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in 2018. Throughout his practice, he was exposed, and continues to handle a litany of cases ranging from civil suits to criminal actions. Presently, he is handling cases both in the lower courts and in the Court of Tax Appeals. On top of litigating, his corporate practice involves representing clients for tax audits by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, including the complex transactions of power suppliers in the power sector; trademark applications; and corporate housekeeping. Among the notable representations he handled are:

Successfully reduced deficiency taxes totaling P20M claimed against a retail and distribution company to P500k.
Successfully obtained a Temporary Restraining Order from the Court of Tax Appeals against the Warrant of Distraint and Levy issued by the BIR against a Power Company.
Successfully negotiated the opposition to the Trademark Registration of a retailer and issuance of the Certificate of Registration from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
Currently representing a Power Company before the Court of Tax Appeals to question legality of deficiency assessment issued by the BIR in the amount of P65.9M.
Currently representing a Multinational Company before the Court of Tax Appeals for Input VAT Refund in the amount of P40M.
Currently representing a Multinational Distribution Company before the BIR for the reduction of deficiency taxes totaling P664M.

Prior to his joining Dumlao Law Offices, he served as an Associate for over two years at reputable firm in BGC, where he handled intellectual property cases and registering trademarks, applied for special licenses with the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board, import and export licenses from the Bureau of Customs, and Department of Labor and Employment compliances in addition to Corporate compliances with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Atty. Carlo V. Arquiza

Practice Areas

Labor and employment
Tax assessments/refunds
Tax compliance audits
Estate settlement
Partition
Family law
Criminal case/s
Contract review

Atty. Carlo V. Arquiza is a seasoned litigator with more than a decade of legal experience under his belt and regularly appears in courts, quasi-judicial agencies, and other government agencies including the Court of Tax Appeals, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Justice, and the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission to name a few.

For the Firm, he handles various complex legal matters from a broad range of practice of areas including, but not limited to, the following:

Labor and employment;
Tax assessments/refunds;
Tax compliance audits;
Estate settlement;
Partition;
Family law;
Criminal case/s; and
Contract review.

Upon admission to the Philippine bar in 2013, he joined one of the oldest law firms in the country where he kickstarted his legal career and handled labor, civil and criminal litigation for local and multinational clients pending before trial and appellate courts as well as quasi-judicial bodies including, but not limited to: the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (now Human Settlements Adjudication Commission), the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Labor Relations Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration.

Before joining the Firm, Atty. Carlo also served as an in-house counsel of a well-known multinational beverage company and a highly-regarded listed mining company both headquartered in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Atty. Fernando “David” O. Santos

Practice Areas

School

Atty. Fernando “David” O. Santos, practices taxation, litigation, and corporate law. David handles tax assessments, claims for Input VAT refund, settlement of Estate Tax. He is involved in requests for confirmatory rulings and applications for tax treaty reliefs. David regularly appears before regular courts for tax litigations.

David is engaged in contract review for an e-commerce platform. He also has experience in increasing capital stock and creating service agreements. Among his notable representations are:

Successfully reduced deficiency taxes of a multinational renewable energy company from Php 80m to Php 1.4m.
Dismissed criminal cases of corporate officers in cases related to taxation
Currently handling the acquisition of a digital infrastructure company based in the Philippines
Currently representing a technical and customer support services company in their CTA cases for a claim of Input VAT Refund.

Prior to joining Dumlao Law Offices, David has experience in real estate development. He handled the leasing of commercial and residential spaces and the operations of a dormitory. David negotiated and dealt with government institutions, PEZA registered companies, a leading e-Commerce delivery company, and security agencies, to name a few.

Atty. Vince Noel L. Lupango

Practice Areas

Tax Assessment, Compliance Review, and Claims for Tax Refund
Commercial Law, Contracts, and Special Projects
Estate Settlement and Administration
Real Estate Transactions
Tax, Civil and Criminal Litigation

School

Atty. Vince Noel L. Lupango is a tax and commercial lawyer advising and assisting local and foreign corporations in tax planning, tax assessments, and litigation. His practice areas include estate planning, contract review and negotiation, and property law.

Prior to joining Dumlao & Co., Atty. Lupango started his career at a reputable law firm based in Ortigas, Pasig City where he obtained vast experience in tax and corporate services practice. In his tax practice, he has extensively assisted clients in protesting tax assessments before the Bureau of Internal Revenue, including requests for compromise settlement of tax deficiencies to avoid levy and garnishments. He has assisted families in their estate settlement before the BIR, LGU, and Registry of Deeds. Similarly, he has assisted clients in securing Letters Administration in the Family Courts. In various instances, he has advised corporate clients in tax and corporate-related matters, contract preparation and review, company incorporation, business registration, and amendments of the companies’ articles of incorporation.

Among his recent representations are:

Successfully reduced deficiency taxes totaling Php111M claimed against the largest natural health food and supplement specialty retail store to Php3.5M.
Successfully secured an administrative VAT Refund in the amount of Php31M in favor of the subsidiary of a multinational fruit company.
Currently representing corporate clients before the Court of Tax Appeals for Input VAT Refund and Disputed Tax Assessments.
Currently representing one of the largest construction corporations before the Department of Justice in a tax case.

In law school, Vince has interned in San Beda Legal Aid Bureau assisting indigent clients in their legal concerns; and has assisted in a criminal case before the Regional Trial Court. Concurrently, he was a former Vice Chairman for Publication of the same organization.

Atty. Vince obtained his Juris Doctor from San Beda University Manila – College of Law. Prior to law school, he graduated magna cum laude from Far Eastern University Manila with a degree in Psychology.

Atty. Joanna Cherica Y. Brinas

Practice Areas

School

Atty. Joanna Cherica “Rica” Y. Brinas practices tax, family, commercial, and property law. She regularly appears before the regular courts for civil, tax, and family cases; and Bureau of Internal Revenue to handle tax audits. She also drafts and reviews contracts for the firm’s local and foreign clients.

Atty. Rica obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the College of Law of San Beda University – Manila. In law school, Atty. Rica interned in San Beda Legal Aid Bureau where she assisted indigent clients with their legal concerns; and appeared in criminal cases before the Regional Trial Courts.

Atty. Rica also earned her undergraduate degree from Ateneo de Manila University where she majored in Legal Management and minored in International Business. During her university days, she took a semester in Fu Jen Catholic University 輔仁大學 (New Taipei City, Taiwan) where she studied International Business and Finance.

Prior to joining Dumlao Law Offices, Atty. Rica’s experience was in logistics. She prepared fare matrices for a domestic logistic and hauling company. She was also engaged in drafting and reviewing labor contracts & service and lease agreements, among others.

Atty. Sarah Jane B. Santos

Practice Areas

School

Atty. Sarah currently handles tax assessments, civil and criminal litigation, commercial law transactions and labor cases. Her practice areas also include tax advisory and drafting of contracts catering to the firm’s local and foreign clients.

Prior to joining Dumlao Law Offices, Atty. Sarah started her career as an associate at an esteemed litigation firm where she handled property and criminal cases before the regular courts as well as cases before the Sandiganbayan. She also had a short stint in public service doing work for an LGU.

Atty. Sarah obtained her Juris Doctor degree from San Beda University – Manila where she was a member of the Academic Committee for the Bar Operations. She also obtained her undergraduate degree in Accountancy from San Beda University Manila.

Atty. John Philip Baltazar, JD

Practice Areas

School

John Philip Baltazar, a founding partner, specializes in commercial contracts and transactions.

John has been extensively involved in rendering regulatory and transactional advice relative to deals among energy companies, providing insight into the commercial considerations within a heavily regulated space. In his energy practice, he has appeared before the Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Energy, and the Department of Energy. John has advised in connection with deals involving commercial lending, playing various roles in documentation.

Having advised a Fortune 500 company in the manufacturing and automation industries, John has extensive experience working on commercial contracts in the Australia and New Zealand markets, negotiating with key players in oil and gas, mining, automotive, and energy and utilities.

John obtained his juris doctor (second honors) in 2014 from the Ateneo de Manila University, having ranked 15^th in his graduating class, and his Bachelor of Arts in Literature from Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan, graduating cum laude and class valedictorian.

Louis Patricia M. Canilao, CPA

Practice Areas

School

Louis Patricia M. Canilao is a Certified Public Accountant, Patricia started her career in Asian Mergers & Acquisition Links, a consultancy firm. She gained an extensive experience in corporate valuation, strategy development and financial consulting through working with clients in hotel, staffing agency, agriculture, business process outsourcing and energy industry. She was also part of a successful acquisition of a seat leasing company in 2019. She became an Accounting Supervisor for FPDI and handled the end-to-end accounting process for SLMC MAB Corp. which includes financial statements preparation, filing of BIR returns and preparation and submission of SEC reports. Prior her involvement in Dumlao & Co., she was the Finance Supervisor for City Service Corporation and became the OIC for the Payroll, Billing and Payable Department until May 2021.

Patricia is a graduate of San Beda University with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Accountancy.