PRACTICE AREAS
CORPORATE LAW
Foreign Investments
Foreign Corporations intending to do business in the Philippines must first go through the preparatory stages of ensuring that the prospective investors may validly do so, and through which corporate vehicle.
Oba Law provides support in these critical early stages to lay the foundations of long-term business operations. With a taxation background, Oba Law is able to provide support in determining the tax appropriate corporate vehicle and structure for the desired business.
M&A
An alternative to setting up a business from ground up is to acquire or invest in existing businesses in the Philippines.
Oba Law provides support in determining and minimizing the legal risks in acquisitions, from the conduct of legal due diligence, drafting of the appropriate transfer documents, and processing the proper registration requirements.
For cross-border M&A, Oba Law works with One Asia Lawyers for a comprehensive international support.
More information is available in the One Asia Lawyers website: https://oneasia.legal/en/
Contract Drafting and Review
Entering into contracts is a given for any business. Oba Law provides support to ensure that the business is able to enter into its transactions the way the business intended to, with the added value of minimizing legal risk as well as determining the most appropriate structures for taxation purposes.
Compliance
While businesses focus their efforts on growth and profitability, they must nevertheless be mindful of existing regulations, which may end up causing slow downs or stoppages if not complied with properly.
Oba Law provides support to ensure that businesses and its transactions are compliant with regulatory matters, paving the way for the smooth running of operations.
Dispute Resolution
There are times when disagreements grow into matters that require legal attention, whether within the business or in external dealings.
Oba Law provides support in resolving disputes, whether through the judicial system, or alternative modes of dispute resolution, such as arbitration or mediation.
TAXATION
Registration
Whether registration for preliminary steps or securing registrations for certain applicable transactions, Oba Law is able to provide support in processing the registration requirements and lightening the load for businesses.
Compliance
Even with taxation matters, prevention is better than the cure, more so when the cure involves payment of surcharges and penalties. Oba Law provides support in identifying potential tax exposures and provides possible remedies well before an audit begins.
Assessments
There are times when the Bureau of Internal revenue and the taxpayer do not see eye-to-eye. Oba Law provides support from the early stages of audit to the latter stages of the administrative proceedings to ensure that the right amount of taxes are paid through the exercise of the necessary remedies available under the law.
Tax Treaties
The Philippines is a party to a number of tax treaties with different States, providing relief from double taxation in cross-border transactions. Oba Law provides support in determining the applicability of tax treaties and processing the necessary requirements to avail of the proper tax relief.
DATA PRIVACY
Compliance
The legitimate processing and protection of personal data requires compliance with certain duties and responsibilities under the law. As Philippine data privacy regulations have a number of differences from the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), knowledge of the local law is key to full compliance.
Oba Law provides support in keeping businesses up to date with data privacy regulations and ensuring that businesses establish the proper systems involved in collecting, processing, retaining, deleting personal data, and handling data breach or security incidents.
Policies and Manuals
Compliance with data privacy regulations can include a good number of documents. While these documents are necessary in ensuring that personal data of data subjects is properly processed and protected, they can be daunting. Oba Law provides support in the drafting of necessary documents to ensure compliance with data privacy laws, from consent forms, privacy policies, to data privacy manuals, outsourcing agreements, and data sharing agreements.
Data Subject Rights
For the data subject, data privacy regulations provide for rights and remedies to prevent their personal data from being misused of mishandled.
Oba Law provides support for data subjects in the exercise of their rights to protect their personal data, in case the Personal Information Controllers appear to be remiss in doing so.
LABOR
Employment Contracts
Hiring good workers is an essential part of running a business. Oba Law provides support in the drafting of employment contracts and giving advice in matters of human resources in order to ensure that both the employer and the prospective employees are clear in what they can expect from each other.
Policies and Manuals
In order to promote workplace harmony, all workers must be made to follow the company’s internal policies. Labor practices differ from one country to another so keeping up with Philippine regulations is essential to ensure that workers are treated fairly and in accordance with law.
Oba Law provides support in drafting fair and effective work policies to ensure that the policies promote the well-being of all workers in the workplace. Manuals may vary from operational policies, disciplinary procedures, occupational safety and health, etc. so it is necessary to determine what the business needs for both its workers and compliance with DOLE regulations.
REAL PROPERTY AND ESTATES
Transfer and Ownership of Real Property
Buying and selling real property in the Philippines involves a number of procedures and costs which can be intimidating. Oba Law provides support in real property transactions from due diligence, title verification, drafting of transfer documents, as well as payment of taxes and processing of required registrations to ensure that the transfer of property is without legal infirmity.
Estates
The loss of a loved one carries with it the transmittal of properties to the rightful heirs. Oba Law provides support in processing the applicable procedures, including the payment of estate tax, to reduce the administrative burden on the heirs.