The Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) officially announces the appointment of its new Executive Director, Atty. Nicolene Arcaina. Atty. Arcaina is an alumna of the Ateneo Law School (ALS) and AHRC Internship Program (Batch Kapatian, Summer Internship Program 2015). She graduated in 2018 and received the Roberto A. Gana Award, a recognition for devotion to service to underprivileged members of society. She also served as the President of the AHRC Council of Interns for Academic Year 2017-2018, demonstrating her strong commitment to human rights advocacy early on in her career.

Prior to joining the AHRC, Arcaina gained valuable experience handling strategic litigation cases, research, project management and partnerships as a Bertha Foundation Justice Fellow and Alumnx at the Center for International Law (Centerlaw) from 2019 to 2023. She was also a consultant for different access to justice related programs. Her primary commitments involved working with and representing communities affected by the Philippine War on Drugs and other gross human rights violations.

As newly installed chief, Arcaina looks forward to bringing new developments in the center. “I look forward to co-building a Center that courageously re-imagines the way we serve communities who experience and suffer from oppression. I am excited to see a Center that lives out this courage,” she shared. 

She also expressed her vision for AHRC in the coming years. “Under my leadership, the Center will prioritize efforts to go where we are most needed and with the highest regard to those with the least access to justice. The Center will be bold enough to call and work for accountability from those that wield power to abuse; and to proactively engage in the most pressing and relevant human rights issues of the day.”

Arcaina’s appointment is a historical milestone for AHRC as she will be serving as the first woman chief of the center. 

Joining her in this new development in AHRC is Atty. Katrina Isabela Blanco, who has been appointed as the Internship Director. Atty. Blanco, who is also an ALS and AHRC alumna (Batch Kaibahan, Summer Internship Program 2019), will mentor AHRC resident interns who are the next generation of human rights advocates. She will also serve as the Coordinator for Student Formation of the law school. 

Atty. Blanco is a fellow of JUST Energy Transition (JET) Fellowship Program of the Alternative Law Groups. Prior to her appointment, she served as a Program Officer of AHRC, handling the implementation of the center’s several Access to Justice projects and serving as the supervising lawyer of the Katutubo desk. 

As an alumna of the Internship Program, Atty. Blanco is completely aware of the existing best practices as well as the areas to improve in the center’s flagship program. With her new role, she intends to empower interns to carve out spaces that enable them to learn the law and use it in ways that empower underserved communities.

“I’m excited about the possibilities of exploring to bring our [AHRC] motto ‘to learn the law and serve the people’ – to life in more tangible ways and much closer to the realities of communities. A key part of this work is nurturing spaces and creating opportunities for our interns to not only know the law but to use and shape the law to empower communities and address critical human rights issues,” Atty. Blanco stressed.

Atty. Arcaina succeeded Atty. Ray Paolo Santiago who served as Executive Director of AHRC for 12 years (2012-2024). AHRC reached several milestones under Santiago’s leadership including numerous membership and key positions in several coalitions, widened linkages and networks, improved organizational policies and systems, and a number of awards and recognitions. 

While Atty. Santiago now serves as Team Leader of the Fostering Advancement of Inclusive and Rights-based (FAIR) Justice Program, he remains an active member of the AHRC Advisory Board. 

AHRC welcomes this new development in the center. And as the organization moves forward with these significant changes, AHRC remains steadfast to its commitment to promoting and protecting human rights and improving access to justice for all.