Board of Trustees
ATTY. GUS GATMAYTAN, Ph.D.
Chair
Gus received his law degree from the University of the Philippines and passed the Philippine Bar Examinations in 1987. He received a Masters of Arts in Anthropology from Ateneo de Manila University and his PhD from the London School of Economics.
Focused on research, Gus also teaches at the Ateneo de Davao University Institute of Anthropology. Gus is one of the founders of LRC together with Atty. Nonette Royo, Dean Tony Laviña, and now Philippine Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.
ATTY. INGRID GORRE
Vice Chair
Ingrid is an environmental and human rights lawyer. Formerly with the Asia Foundation, Ingrid now works with the British Council as Senior Adviser on Institutional Strengthening. Ingrid was coordinator of LRC's research and policy development.
JUDY PASIMIO
Secretary
Filipina, a mother, activist, women human rights advocate, works in solidarity with the indigenous women, and is currently the coordinator of LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights). At LILAK, she has led the organizing of indigenous women gatherings, both at the regional and national levels. These provide the compass of LILAK’s strategic support to their struggles.
Her work on land rights, access to natural resources and indigenous rights started when she worked as a campaigner with LRC. She also served as the Executive Director of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK/Friends of the Earth Phils), whose main partners were indigenous peoples, struggling for their right to self-determination (2007-2011). She also worked with the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) on the Task Force on Rural Indigenous Women.
JOCELYN VILLANUEVA
Treasurer
Jo is a women's empowerment and sustainable livelihoods expert. She has worked for various
non-governmental organizations and once served as LRC's executive director. She is now country director of a leading international non-profit.
NETH DAÑO
Trustee
A researcher who has extensive experience in development and policy work on issues in agriculture, agricultural biodiversity, biosafety, climate change and environmental governance in Southeast Asia. She earned her Bachelors’ degree in Development Studies (cum laude) from the University of the Philippines, dabbled briefly with Law, but ended up completing her Master’s degree in Community Development.
Neth lives with her daughter Isabel in beautiful Davao City in Mindanao - the most exciting part of the Philippines. When given the luxury of time, she loves to read, putter around the house, and do her crochet and sewing projects. When there is much more time for leisure, she tries out scuba diving, wall climbing, and exploring new places with family and friends. When given the choice, she just wants to sleep.
NORLY GRACE MERCADO
Trustee
Norly's work as a campaigner in the development work started with LRC. She first joined the NGO Working Group on the ADB Team in 1997, and then became part of the Campaign Support and Linkages Team in 1999. She also became the Associate Executive Director from 2002 to 2005, and Executive Director from 2016 to 2019.
Norly graduated from the National College of Public Administration and Governance of the University of the Philippines. Originally from Santiago City, Isabela, Norly moved to Metro Manila to pursue her degree in Public Administration. After her LRC stint, in 2005, she moved to Penang, Malaysia to serve as the Programme Officer of the Pesticide Action Network, Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), working on issues related to food sovereignty. In 2009 she joined the international NGO, Bank Information Center, and worked on safeguarding the rights of communities affected by projects funded by the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions. In 2012, she joined Oxfam’s Asia Regional office to become its Asia GROW Campaign Coordinator. Norly is also a consultant for organizational development and human resource systems.