ATTY. NELISA "LISA" GUEVARA-GARCIA

Atty. Lisa is the Director of IJM Philippines’ National Prosecution Development. She has been with IJM for almost two decades, including 15 years of casework in the IJM Manila Office’s Legal Department. As a private prosecutor, she handled cases that resulted in 52 convictions of 45 perpetrators within seven years while serving as the Anti-Human Trafficking Specialist for the legal team. Four (4) of these convictions were later affirmed by the Supreme Court.

Under her leadership from 2016 to 2021, the legal team achieved 120 perpetrator convictions, 52 of which were OSAEC convictions. Currently, she works with the Philippine Government to advance trauma-informed and child-protective approaches to the investigation and prosecution of OSEC cases. She leads pioneering initiatives to build the capacity of prosecution and law enforcement practitioners and advocates for local legislation against OSEC.

Before joining IJM, Atty. Lisa served as a Legal Officer at the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Santo Tomas.