Manila: Lawyer Hilario Paredes has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Malacañang announced Tuesday. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin confirmed Paredes' latest appointment in a text message to Palace reporters. Paredes replaced former BCDA board chairperson Thomas Lantion, based on his appointment paper signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday. Prior to his new appointment, Paredes served as BCDA board member. A lawyer and a businessman, Paredes graduated with honors from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree in 1996. Before he graduated from law school, Paredes interned at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 96 which was presided by Bersamin who was then judge. After passing the 1996 Bar Examinations, Paredes immediately immersed himself in private practice, honing his skills as a litigator and a corporate lawyer. Paredes started as an associate in various law firms, starting at the Law Firm of Alan F. Paguia (1996-1997), Villanueva Bernardo and Gabionza Law Offices (1998), Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon and San Jose Law Offices (1998-1999), and then in Puyat Jacinto and Santos Law Office (2000-2003) where he became a partner in May 2003. He later set up his own law firm, the Paredes Law Group, on June 15, 2006. Paredes has developed extensive experience in the fields of corporate and commercial law, litigation, public-private partnerships, Build-Operate-and-Transfer Law and government infrastructure (toll roads, rail and power plant projects both in the country and abroad), banking and corporate finance, real estate law, succession and estate planning, immigration, and labor and employment. Source: Philippines News Agency