Name:

Atty. April Joy G. Ong

Home Institution:

Supreme Court of the Philippines

Host Institution:

Georgetown University 

Award Name:

Fulbright Foreign Student Program

Award Year:

2024

Bio / Write-up:

Atty. April Joy G. Ong is a Court Attorney at the Office of Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Apart from her judicial work, she serves in the Secretariat of the Technical Working Group that drafts Rules for the Implementation of the Filipino Sign Language Act in the Judiciary. She is a professor of remedial law, civil law, and political law at San Sebastian Recoletos - College of Law. She ranked fourth in the graduating class of 2017 of the San Beda University - College of Law.

As a Fulbright scholar, Atty. Ong will pursue her Master of Laws in National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Her personal experience with a disability, stemming from an auto-immune disease, drives her interest in health and disability laws to help the Philippine judiciary make justice more accessible and inclusive towards persons with disability.

Beyond her professional roles, Atty. Ong enjoys travelling. She is likewise an active member and facilitator of the Hope for Lupus Foundation where she advocates for the able protection of the rights of persons with disability.