Tonisito Umali

Early life and education

Umali was born on November 24, 1970, to Antonio L. Umali and Milagros A. Casugbo in Caloocan City, Philippines. He attended elementary school at Notre Dame of Greater Manila where he was an honor student and high school at Quezon City Science High School where he was awarded the Gerry Roxas Leadership Award upon graduation.

He pursued his undergraduate studies at Ateneo de Manila University and was conferred Bachelor of Science in Legal Management in 1992. Umali pursued his Juris Doctor degree also at Ateneo Law School where he completed his studies in 1997.

Umali successfully passed the Philippine Bar Examination in 1997, the same year he graduated from law school, and took oath and was admitted to practice law on May 6, 1998. He is currently a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. He was also admitted to the State Bar of California in 2004 after passing the California State Bar examination.

On April 15, 2015, Umali was conferred Doctor of Public Administration, Honoris Causa by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

Law practice

Umali worked for the law firm established by former Solicitor-General Francisco Chavez prior to the establishment of his own law office with his father Antonio L. Umali in 1999. As such, he assisted Chavez, among others, in the preparation of legal pleadings and/or during oral arguments before the Philippine Supreme Court on some cases involving questionable government transactions.

Umali also engaged in extensive civil, criminal, administrative, local government and election law practice. He focused in local government and election law cases when he joined the law office of former Solicitor General and Secretary of the Department Justice, Alberto C. Agra.

Furthermore, Umali served as a legislative officer to former Philippine Senator Nikki Coseteng and then Philippine House of Representatives Mar Roxas II. He also worked as a legal consultant to former Philippine Senate Majority Floor Leader Loren Legarda.

In 2004, Umali furthered his law career in the United States. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2004 and practiced civil, family, immigration, personal injury, and bankruptcy laws in the Los Angeles county region after passing the California State Bar examination. He featured often in Filipino-targeted news publications Weekend Balita and Asian Journal, dispensing advice to fellow countrymen living in the United States.

Academic career

An educator at heart, Umali is a part-time lecturer at the graduate program of University of the Philippines, National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG). He was a part-time lecturer and member of the faculty of the College of Economics and Politics of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) while serving as legal consultant to some local chief executives, the League Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda. He was also a former law professor at the Law School of the Universidad de Manila, teaching Constitutional Law 1 and 2.

Umali is a Career Executive Service Officer (CESO II) after having passed and completed the CESO eligibility process in 2013. He was elected as the President of the Philippine Educators Association of CESOs and Eligibles (PEACE), Inc. and during the PEACE, Inc. second general assembly held in Ecotech Center, Lahug, Cebu City on November 10–12, 2014, he was elected as the President of the Board of National Union of Career Executive Service Officers (NUCESO) . Umali is also a National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Director/Chairman of the Youth Committee.

Department of Education

In joining the Department of Education, Umali brought with him a wealth of experience in drafting proposed legislative measures for both chamber of Congress, engaging in litigation practice, preparing court pleadings, providing legal opinions, doing research on legal matters and many more.

Umali, representing the Department of Education (Philippines), is a member of the governing board of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel (QITEP) in Language in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is also a member of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) Board as representative of the Department of Education.

As one of the spokespersons of the Department of Education, he leads the information campaign on basic education programs and projects and sheds light to various issues and concerns confronting the Department.

K+12 Basic Education Program

As Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs, he was instrumental in the passage of Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 also popularly known as the K to 12 Program and its Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR). He served as the Chairperson of a Committee in charge of the transition issues on the implementation of said K to 12 law particularly on the law’s effects to private basic education schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). He has been active in the legislative and budget process in coordination with the members of Congress and local chief executives of the various local government units.

Anti-Bullying Act of 2013

Umali was invited during Senate and House of Representative committee hearings as a resource speaker and was thus instrumental in the passage of Republic Act No. 10627, otherwise known as the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013.

Palarong Pambansa

Umali is the Secretary-General of the Philippine Palarong Pambansa and Officer-in-Charge of the after school sports program of the Department wherein he had introduced significant reforms on systems and procedures towards professionalism, fairness and transparency in the conduct of sports events.