Atty. Marian L. Coquia-Regidor, an accomplished legal professional and educator, joined the ĚěĂŔĘÓƵ (UP) System administration on January 13, 2025 as its new Vice President for Public Affairs (VPPA). She is in charge of the UP System’s media and public relations, alumni relations, and public service programs.
From student leader to legal innovator and educator
VP Marian is an alumna of the UP College of Law and the UP School of Economics in Diliman, and the University of California, Berkeley – Haas School of Business.
She considers herself extraordinarily fortunate to access topnotch education. The child of a public school teacher and an OFW visual artist, she learned the value of education and perseverance early in life. While she benefited from financial aid and scholarships, she financed her law studies by working as a researcher with a nonprofit organization then as speechwriter and legislative staff officer with the House of Representatives. “The UP Student Loan Board was our lifeline during my undergraduate years”, she recalls, “then in my freshman year in UP Law, I couldn’t afford most books, so I wrote copious notes in the library for hours.”
The challenging personal circumstances did not prevent her from being active in the student movement. She served as chairperson of the School of Economics Student Council, associate editor of the college paper, and a leader of various student organizations. VP Marian reflects: “Our age of enlightenment was in a complex post-EDSA era, so we navigated through issues like UP’s socialized tuition fee program and found ourselves at the threshold of history when the Philippine Senate voted to terminate the US bases agreement. Positions were not simply black and white. We examined the nuances of issues, learned to negotiate with respect, engaged with people from all walks of life, and worked for change in various forms and spaces.” She would carry the lessons of the student movement to the legal profession and the academe.
She started her law practice as a litigator then focused on intellectual property and technology law. She later built her legal executive career leading knowledge management and digital publications, business development, and operations for a global practice that spanned nearly 200 countries. After traveling extensively and living in Singapore for a couple of years, she returned to the country to look after her family and make a greater impact back home. When the pandemic broke, VP Marian served as chief legal officer of a local conglomerate. She subsequently joined a software company, where she established a pioneering Philippine-based global legal services team that managed contracts, legal processes, and legal technology tools.
On top of her day jobs, she was a corporate social responsibility leader who drove innovation in social impact projects. She once led a CSR program that boosted employee volunteer engagement from 10% to 90% in less than a year, bagging an industry award for the firm and national Brigada Eskwela award for a partner school. “Our CSR team went beyond traditional socio-civic projects and collaborated closely with teachers, and community organizers. Instead of focusing solely on donations, we harnessed skills and expertise. And we made community service fun and rewarding.” Currently, her personal advocacies revolve around increasing access to education and technology, particularly for women. She is co-chair of a community-based college scholarship program for young women from low-income families, and a charter member of Women in AI Governance (WiAIG).
VP Marian has also served as lecturer on legal research and legal communications at private law schools for around seven years. When she decided to join UP, it was a “full-circle moment, returning to [her] roots and giving back to the University.”
Amplifying UP’s voice and expanding the impact of the national university
“At a time when disinformation breeds disillusionment with the media and other institutions of our democracy, it becomes more important to hear UP’s voice,” VP Marian remarks. “Beyond leading in academic scholarship and research, public service should permeate every aspect of UP. What we say and do as the national university matters, but our most compelling and enduring impact would be to uplift the Filipino people.” For her, this requires rallying the UP students, faculty, staff, and alumni around the world to the vision of Transformative Education in the Service of the Nation. She fully supports the plan, programs, and strategic themes launched by UP President Jimenez at the start of his administration: Teaching, Research, Innovation, and Creative Work for a Sustainable Society; Public Service for the Common Good; and, Consultative and Accountable Governance for the Well-being of University Constituents.
OVPPA intends to regularly and creatively engage with UP’s stakeholders and the public, strengthen UP’s brand and presence in traditional and social media, and strategically coordinate service initiatives across UP constituent universities, campuses and units. It aims to leverage technology and innovation to improve operations and governance. VP Marian explains, “We owe it to our constituents to be operationally efficient, to utilize new and emerging technologies and transform our processes and platforms. Our offices responsible for media and communications, alumni relations, and public service – and UP as a whole – should likewise adapt and evolve.”
These days, VP Marian splits her office time between Quezon Hall and Fonacier Hall, where the Media and Public Relations Office, Alumni Relations Office, and public service office, Padayon, are located. She relishes being back in the UP campus, “an oasis of nature, critical thought and creativity”. She juggles her other roles as a mom, wife to UP Institute of Civil Engineering professor Dr. Regidor, and pet parent to several dogs. She plans to catch up on her painting and reading over the holidays.
With VP Marian leading the OVPPA, we can look forward to innovation-driven public service, making “Honor and Excellence in the Service of the People” more tangible and resonant to the UP community and beyond.
