RCBC's Macel Fernandez-Estavillo is more than just a pretty face

Everybody loves a pretty face.

The ongoing Senate investigation into how suspected hackers managed to pull off the transfer of $81-million from the account of the Bangladesh central bank  to casinos in the Philippines  became a trending topic not just because of the dramatic exchange between Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and RCBC bank manager Maia Santos Deguito but also because of Macel Fernandez-Estavillo, the lawyer representing the embattled bank.

A redeeming factor here is watching RCBC's Atty Macel Fernandez-Estavillo present the investigation results. She's so bright & pretty!

— Len Gonzales (@lenmina) March 17, 2016

Sorry but Atty. Macel Fernandez-Estavillo is so pretty. ???? #RCBaeC hihihi

— Katrina Mercado (@ynnuuuh) March 17, 2016

Those who know Estavillo, executive vice president and corporate secretary of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and head of the bank's legal and regulatory affairs, know that she's not just out to mount a charm offensive.

Bar topnotcher yang si Macel Fernandez-Estavillo. Jeskelerd. I pity the other lawyers who will go up against her. Sa true lang. #RCBC

— Stella Arnaldo (@Pulitika2010) March 17, 2016

Atty. Macel Estavillo amazes me in this hearing. She presents her affidavits and waivers well. #antimoneylaundering

— Maria Magdalena (@MagdalenangSawi) March 17, 2016
 

Atty Macel Fernandez (left photo) after she took her oath as chief of the Presidential Management Staff when she was 29 years old and (right) as chief of legal and regulatory affairs of RCBC.

Who is Atty. Macel Fernandez-Estavillo?

The name Macel Fernandez still rings a bell to many.

Estavillo, the former Maria Celia Hernandez Fernandez, was the bar topnotcher in 1997 and was the youngest member of President Joseph Estrada's Cabinet when she was named chief of the Presidential Management Staff during the tumultous final days of his presidency.

She is married to lawyer Karlo Estavillo, general manager of San Miguel Properties. They have two children.

Her parents —Jose and Celia—were also lawyers. Celia passed away last January. Her elder sibling, Andion Fernandez-Ching, was a noted soprano singer.

Journalists who covered the Senate remember her as the protege of Senator Edgardo Angara. She also co-hosted a TV talk show with Senate President Frank Drilon, titled "Frankahan."

A magazine once labelled her as the "best looking COS in the Senate" or chief-of-staff when she headed the senator's office in 2001.

After graduating summa cum laude with an economics degree from the University of the Philippines in 1992, Estavillo initially worked for Unilever before she was recruited by Angara to join his staff.

Estavillo became the senator's executive assistant for about a year before concentrating on her Law studies, also at UP.

She joined the blue-chip law firm ACCRA after topping the bar in 1997 with a rating of 90.025 percent. She later took her Master's degree at the New York University School of Law.

Angara—who lost to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the 1998 vice presidential race—was named Agriculture secretary in 1999 after riding out a year-long appointment ban. He took his protege with him to the DA to be his undersecretary.

When impeached president Joseph Estrada revamped his Cabinet at the start of January 2001, Angara was transferred to Malacañang as executive secretary. Estavillo tagged along and was named chief of the Presidential Management Staff. 

The then 29-year-old lawyer was among the Estrada officials who negotiated the "peaceful and orderly transfer of power" with the allies of then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. 

Estavillo would rejoin government as Angara's chief of staff after he won a Senate seat in the 2001 elections. Angara served in the Senate until 2013.

Her corporate profile posted on the bank's website said that prior to her appointment in RCBC, she served as Assistant Vice President-Global Business Development of ABSCBN Broadcasting from 2002 to 2005.

"She has been a Director of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. since June 27, 2005. She serves as a Director in Luisita Industrial Park, Philippine Integrated Advertising Agency, Averon Holdings, Inc. She is a Trustee of Mapua Institute of Technology. Atty. Fernandez-Estavillo served as Director at Bankard Inc. from May 26, 2005 to March 14, 2013.," her profile read. — APG/NB, GMA News