ATTY. JOSEPH NOEL M. ESTRADA, Managing Partner, obtained his degree in Political Science at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1999 where he graduated with honors. He earned his Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law, and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2005. In 2019, he completed an executive program on “Transforming Higher Education Leaders Through Effective Policy Reforms” at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, an institution well known for educating and training the next generation of Asian policy-makers and leaders.
It is therefore no surprise that Atty. Estrada, aside from being the Managing Partner of the Estrada & Aquino Law, Co., is also the Managing Director of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), a group that is composed of more than 2,000 member private educational institutions in the country. Atty. Estrada is acknowledged as one of the legal luminaries in education law who immerse and help shape the legal and policy environment in education.
Atty. Estrada is a regular resource person of the House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Education. He also regularly represents private education in policy consultations in the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. Atty. Estrada helped draft R.A. 10533 or “The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013”, and was also instrumental in the passage of RA 10687 or the UniFAST Law in 2015; and RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education in 2017.
Atty. Estrada is counsel to several educational associations which include the Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAPSCU), Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE), Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU), South Manila Education Consortium (SMEC), National Alliance of Private Schools, Philippines (NAPSPHIL), Ayala Education, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
He regularly writes op-ed articles on education at The Manila Times, where he also serves as the newspaper’s corporate secretary.
In September 2019, he released his second book entitled, “The Education Act: A Compendium of Philippine Education Law, Jurisprudence, Practices, Policies, and Regulations” published by Rex Publishing.