Jorge Melo

Partner at ZGLaw (Philippines)

Jorge Alfonso “Coby” Melo is a partner at Zambrano Gruba Caganda and Advincula where he leads the dispute resolution and litigation department. He also specializes in tax litigation, banking, mergers and acquisitions, and special projects.

Coby advises and represents clients on a wide range of issues. He represented a major airline in securing favorable decisions against the Philippine government concerning excise taxes on aviation fuel and in petitions for refund of excise taxes valued at approximately USD 100 million. He also advised a major bank in several major asset recovery disputes in Singapore and the United States. He also acted as counsel for a party in a series of civil and criminal actions among members of an affluent family in the Philippines who own a major appliance manufacturing and distribution company, among others.

He participated as lead Philippine counsel for a consortium of Philippine banks in an international arbitration before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, followed by landmark proceedings before the Singapore High Court and Singapore Court of Appeal, securing a favorable decision in a dispute valued at USD 295 million. His clients on the domestic arbitration front include: a domestic mining company in an arbitration dispute involving USD 9.3 million; a multinational marketing company in a dispute involving its associates in the Philippines; and a large retail chain in a dispute over a corporate acquisition.

Coby is a regular member of the Faculty at the Ateneo De Manila University School of Law in Makati City, Philippines where he teaches procedural law subjects. He has also participated as a panelist at the recent Asset Recovery Asia Conference: Fraud litigation, Enforcement & Contentious Insolvency held last June 2018 in Singapore.