Julito Sarmiento

Julito (Sarge) Sarmiento was admitted to the Philippine Bar and New York State Bar. He has over 30 years of experience as a lawyer in mining, environment, social license, renewable energy, and government relations in the Philippines. He is a strong advocate for the sustainable development and social transformation of local communities, particularly of indigenous cultural communities in resource-dependent industries.

Mr Sarmiento has excellent relationship with the Balatoc indigenous cultural community as host community of Makilala Mining Corporation for the Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog (MCB) Project in Kalinga Province, Northern Luzon. He also played a key role in the successful operations of several significant mining companies throughout the country. He led the acquisition by Glencore of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining (PASAR) Corporation in Leyte Province, Visayas, where he subsequently served as a director, vice president and general counsel. He was senior partner and head of natural resources, environment and social license practice group for 16 years at one of the leading law firms in the Philippines; and the chief executive, president and cofFounder of WeGen which is a renewable distributed energy covering Southeast Asia.

Mr Sarmiento is the founder and co-managing partner of Sarmiento Loriega (SL) Law Office and SL & Partners Consultancy.

He holds a Master of Laws and Doctor of Jurisprudence (Cand.) as a World Bank Scholar from Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut; an MBA (with highest honours) from a Joint Program of Ateneo School of Business and Colorado-based Regis University; a Bachelor of Arts major in Pre-Divinity at the Ateneo de Manila University; and underwent an eight-year formation for the priesthood in the Seminary.