Profile :: The Honorable AVELINO "Nonong" CRUZ, Jr.
Secretary
Tel. # 912-9281 / 911-0480
Fax # 911-6419
Website: http://www.dnd.gov.ph
Email: sndcruz@dnd.gov.ph


Government Service

Prior to his recent appointment as Secretary of National Defense, Sec. Avelino "Nonong" Cruz, Jr. served in the Cabinet as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel from January 2001 to January 2004.

As Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Sec. Nonong Cruz was a member of the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security (COC-IS) and the National Security Council (NSC). On numerous occasions while serving as Acting Executive Secretary, he presided over meetings of the COC-IS. In the COC-IS and the NSC, Sec. Nonong Cruz actively participated in the review of the draft Peace Agreements with the NDF/CPP/NPA and the MILF and in meetings on the Joint Defense Assessment committee assigned to oversee the functioning of the government and assist the Vice President whenever the President leaves for overseas.

Previously, Sec. Nonong Cruz has worked closely with officials of the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In 2002, he was actively involved in the drafting of the Terms of Reference for Balikatan 02-01 ensuring that its provisions were in accordance with the Philippine Constitution and consistent with applicable international agreements. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld the constitutionality of Balikatan 02-01.

Sec. Nonong Cruz later worked closely with DND and AFP officials as well as their US counterparts in connection with the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA). In 2003, he was again assigned to oversee the drafting of the Terms of Reference for Balikatan 03-1 and was later instructed by the President to leave for Washington, D.C. to thresh out the issues surrounding the planned military exercises. He later met with Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander of the Pacific Area Command.

Aside from his work relating to the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, Sec. Cruz is also well-versed with UN Security Council Resolutions and other international agreements on terrorism. He has counseled the President on various legal options that were considered in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US and the subsequent kidnappings perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf. He also reviewed proposed legislative measures to combat terrorism submitted to Congress and is well acquainted with the findings and recommendations in the Feliciano Report and the previous Davide Report on the modernization needs in the AFP.

Academic Background

Sec. Nonong Cruz graduated salutatorian (cum laude) from the University of the Philippines, College of Law in 1977 and placed 7th in the Bar Examinations of the same year.

He also finished B.S. Mathematics from the Ateneo de Manila University. As a student leader during the Martial law, he served as President of the UP Law Student Government and the Ateneo Student Council. He was also Senior Editor of the The Philippine Collegian and a member of the editorial board of The Guidon.

He has been admitted to the practice of law by the New York Bar and was Bar Examiner in Commercial Law in the 1995 Bar Examinations.

Sec. Cruz is currently a Trustee of the UP Law Alumni Foundation and is a member of the Ateneo Alumni Association and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. He is also a member of international lawyer’s organizations such as the Asean Law Association, International Bar Association, Inter-Pacific Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.

Personal

Sec. Cruz was born 26 April 1953 in San Marcelino, Zambales. He spent his childhood years in Baguio City where he attended St. Louis School.

He is 51 years old at the time of his appointment as Secretary of National Defense.

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