Kabaitan R. Guinhawa-Valmonte (KRGV) is a Senior Counsel in the Litigation and Arbitration Group. KRGV is a seasoned lawyer with a total of 22 years of legal experience in the banking industry, law firm practice, and government. KRGV has worked as a Legal Officer in a government-controlled financial institution and as in-house counsel for one of the largest banks in the Philippines. .

Apart from her legal experience in the banking industry, KRGV was a junior partner at an established law firm in Manila where she specialized litigation. KRGV also directly handled intellectual property concerns including registration of patents, trademarks and tradenames with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and of copyrights with the Copyright Division of the National Library.

KRGV was head of the legal division at the Office of one of the commissioners in the Commission on Elections. She was in-charge of queries addressed to the office and drafted resolutions to election cases. She was part of the Committee that drafted the framework, guidelines, procedures, and policies that allowed OFWs to participate in elections through the system of absentee voting.

After taking the bar exam, KRGV applied her Economics and Law background in research, policy work, and consultancy during her contractual work at Agile, a USAID project. She obtained her Professional License in Law in 1998, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (1988) from the  University of the Philippines.