Menardo Guevarra

Menardo Ilasco Guevarra (born May 23, 1954) is a Filipino lawyer who served as Solicitor General of the Philippines from 2022 to 2025 under President Bongbong Marcos. He previously served as the Secretary of Justice under President Rodrigo Duterte and as a commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission under President Benigno Aquino III. Before joining the government, he was involved in private litigation practice as a founding partner of the Medialdea Ata Bello Guevarra & Suarez law firm since 1990. He was also an active faculty member at his alma mater Ateneo de Manila University, where he graduated in 1974.

Early life and education Guevarra was born on May 23, 1954, in Malhacan, Meycauayan, Bulacan. He attended Meycauayan College, formerly Meycauayan Institute, and completed his secondary education in 1970. After high school, Guevarra moved to Manila to study at Ateneo de Manila University, where he majored in political science and graduated magna cum laude in 1974. While teaching at the Ateneo Law School, he was also a lecturer in the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) program of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He also served as Accredited Arbitrator of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, the arbitration arm of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The commission headed by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. was abolished in 2011 after the Supreme Court declared it as unconstitutional. Guevarra then assumed the position of deputy executive secretary for legal affairs under Aquino's executive secretary and his law school classmate Paquito Ochoa Jr. in May 2015. He also served briefly as a commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission in February 2016 until the end of Aquino's term in June 2016. His appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments in May 2018.

Solicitor General On June 17, 2022, President-elect Bongbong Marcos nominated Guevarra as the next solicitor general, of which he was sworn in on the role on July 1, 2022, following the Inauguration of Bongbong Marcos as president.

In a bid to prevent the Arrest of Rodrigo Duterte for the International Criminal Court in March 2025, Duterte's associates filed a petition before the Supreme Court. The high court denied immediate relief but will still consider the merits of the case. Guevara decided to recuse the office of the solicitor general in its manifestation; abstaining from representing the respondents from the Marcos administration. The act caused calls for him to resign.

Legal issue On October 29, 2018, Senator Leila de Lima filed with Ombudsman Samuel Martires complaints against Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and Guevarra for violation of section 10(f) of RA 6981, the "Witness Protection, Security, and Benefit Act." The Ombudsman, however, in 2019 and 2020, dismissed the complaints, which were reversed—"This case is remanded to the Office of the Ombudsman for appropriate action," Justice Raymond Reynold Lauigan, CA Special 17th Division, ruled in a decision dated November 21, 2023. Accordingly, De Lima pleaded for the investigation of her cases.

Personal life Guevarra is married to Cynthia with whom he has four children.