Like father, like daughter? This seems to be the case for the Quezon City chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP-QC), where Melissa Encanto-Tagarda, eldest daughter of the late IBP National President Mervyn Encanto, was recently elected Chapter President.
Encanto-Targarda, who currently serves as Chapter Vice President, was elected President from 2023 to 2025 of the IBP’s largest bloc with 594 votes. She will succeed Marcelino Michael Atanante IV.
She will be joined by incoming Chapter Vice President Montano Nazario Jr., Secretary Kathleen Stacey Villordon, Treasurer Cherrie Belmonte- Lim, Auditor Kathrine Celine Castro, Public Relations Officer Rowell Ilagan and Directors Rodolfo John Paul Palattao III, Karen Gail Feble, Adonis Edgar Macam, Greg Joseph Tiongco, and Neil Anthony Borja.
Concurrently, Encanto-Tagarda is Assistant Vice President and Head of the Corporate Affairs Office at Infrastructure Group of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the country. She previously served as Chief of Staff and General Counsel at the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GCG).
After completing her law degree at the Ateneo School of Law and joining the Bar, she worked as a lawyer at Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law (ACCRALaw).
She is married to Basco Tagarda, with whom she has three children.
Her father Mervyn was Chapter President of IBP-QC from 1991 to 1993. He then served as IBP National President from 1993 to 1995 – the first to hail from the bar association’s Quezon City chapter. He was married to former University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication Dean Georgina Reyes-Encanto. She also served as Regent of the university from 2015 to 2016.
Encanto-Tagarda and the outgoing IBP-QC Board headed by Atanante prioritized legal aid services and programs seeking to improve the administration of justice, especially for those who have less in life.
IBP-QC conducted numerous legal aid clinics in partnership with different public and private organizations and extended legal services to Filipinos in Japan, Belgium, Singapore, Morocco, and the Netherlands.
The chapter also facilitated a vaccination program for Quezon City-based persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in partnership with SMC and donated slippers and desktops to different correctional facilities across the National Capital Region.
Moreover, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it organized online Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) sessions for IBP members.
For these initiatives, IBP-QC was named the bar association’s Best Chapter at the 19th National Convention of Lawyers in Davao City.
Aside from this recognition, the chapter was awarded the IBP Gawad Lila, Most Innovative Non-Legal Aid Activity or Practice Award, Most Innovative Online Activity or Practice Award, Best Regional Activity or Project Award, and Legal Aid Act of Distinction.
It was also cited for raising the biggest amount in a fundraising or income-generating activity and organizing the largest delegation among IBP chapters.
