Associate Justice Catherine Triunfante ManahanAssociate Justice at Court of Tax Appeals
Hon. Catherine Triunfante Manahan, Associate Justice of the Court of Tax Appeals, was the Chief Legislative Officer of Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, the former President of the Senate of the Philippines before joining the CTA. She was a tax lawyer for more than 30 years at the law offices of Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles as well as Castillo Laman Tan & Pantaleon, interspersed with her legal and corporate work in various private companies such as Isla Lipana & Co., Petron Corporation, Caltex (Philippines), Inc., Armon Realty, Inc., and government agencies like the Department of Finance, Department of Labor & Employment, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the University of the Philippines Law Center. She was consultant to the Office of the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2015 for the setting up of the SEC Internal Audit Office. She was a part-time faculty member at the UP College of Law, De La Salle University and Saint Scholastica’s College, Manila.
Justice Manahan is a graduate of the UP College of Law. She finished her AB Political Science, magna cum laude, at the UP College of Arts and Sciences in Diliman, Quezon City, Masters in Business Administration at the Graduate School of the Ateneo de Manila University and earned some units under the Doctorate Program in Public Administration at the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG).
She was an active member of the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP) where she last held the position of President as well as member of the Committee on Taxation of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She was also the Vice President for Legislative Affairs and Executive Director of the Legal Aid Program of the UP Women Lawyers’ Circle, Inc. (WILOCI). After her stint as TMAP President, she was appointed by the BIR as member of the Revenue National Accreditation Board that evaluates and certifies the Tax Agent Practitioners (TAP) at the BIR.
Justice Manahan authored 5 books entitled “Know Your Benefits” in 2013,“The Basics of Tax Compliance” in 2015, “TRAIN LAW vs NIRC - A Comparative Analysis” in 2018, “Taxpayer’s Guide” in 2019, and “A Concise Guide to Socioeconomic Benefits” in 2020, in addition to the various tax articles that she published in the Business World “Taxwise or Otherwise” weekly column for almost 7 years.
Justice Manahan is happily married to Mr. Emiliano Martinez Manahan, Jr. with whom she has four (4) children and 2 grandchildren. Being active members of the Couples for Christ, Inc., a lay religious organization, both Justice Manahan and her husband follow the life principle of Saint Teresa of Avila: NADA TE TURBE, SOLO DIOS BASTA (Let nothing disturb you, only God suffices).
