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ABOUT Atty. Benedicto M. Gonzales Jr.

Atty. Benedicto M. Gonzales Jr. is a practicing lawyer engaged in civil and criminal litigation, and a professor of political law, criminal law, and legal ethics. He has acquired three decades of experience in national and local governance, public policy analysis, and development management. He is presently the affiliate legal expert of the Center for Local and Regional Governance of the UP-NCPAG, and is frequently involved as consultant for capacity-building projects undertaken by the USAID, European Commission, German International Cooperation, Canada International Development Agency, The Asia Foundation, Department of Health, and Department of Interior and Local Government. Atty. Gonzales was an elected Councilor of Caloocan City for three terms, and at one time, also served as Acting City Vice-Mayor. His ten years of service at the city council earned him a reputation as a diligent local legislator and an advocate of principle-based politics. In his younger years, he worked for the Department of Labor and Employment, Population Center Foundation, Caloocan City Government, House of Senate, and VERA Law Firm. He has authored two other books, “Notes and Updates in Administrative Law, Law on Local Government, and Election Law” (2010) and “The Barangay Handbook” (1998). Prof. Gonzales obtained his AB in Political Science and Diploma in Industrial Relations from the UP-Diliman, where he was a State Scholar. He completed his law degree from the FEU-Institute of Law, and passed the 1993 Bar Examinations with flying colors, ranking 19th Place. He is married to Ms. Araceli Esguerra, a human resources development practitioner, who received her AB in Psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University and MA in Industrial Relations from the UP-Diliman. They have three children, Ara Beatrice, Juan Eleazer, and Jose Andres, who are all students of the Ateneo de Manila.