Sheila Carunungan Sison, more widely known as Atty. Sheila Sison, is a Filipino lawyer whose professional path has centered on litigation and advocacy within the Philippine legal system. Born in 1976 and associated with Quezon City in Metro Manila, she has built a career marked by academic excellence and courtroom work across criminal, civil, and related practice areas. Her public profile rose significantly in 2026 when she took on the role of lead defense counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate impeachment trial.
As a partner at the Fortun Narvasa & Salazar law firm, Sison has handled complex cases, including those before the Sandiganbayan, while also drawing on earlier interests in communication and creative writing. This biography draws from available public records, including her firm’s professional profile and contemporaneous reporting on her education and high-profile representation, to present a factual account of her background, professional development, and recent work without speculation on unverified personal details.
Sheila Sison Early Life
Sheila C. Sison was born in 1976 in the Philippines. Public sources link her early years and schooling to Quezon City in Metro Manila, a major urban center that forms part of the National Capital Region. Quezon City itself developed as a planned capital area and remains a hub for education, government, and residential life. Growing up in this environment placed her within reach of specialized public high schools and universities that emphasize rigorous academic training.
She attended Quezon City Science High School, an institution known for its focus on science, mathematics, and critical thinking within the country’s specialized science high school system. This secondary education provided a foundation in analytical skills that later supported both her undergraduate studies in communication and her eventual legal training. Limited public information exists on her family background or specific childhood experiences beyond these educational markers. No verified details confirm particular parental professions or siblings, and claims linking her to other public figures sharing the surname Sison have been examined and found unsupported by available records.
Her early academic path reflects a progression common among students who move from specialized secondary schools into the University of the Philippines system and later into law. The combination of a science-oriented high school and later work in writing and debate suggests an interest in both structured reasoning and clear expression, skills that translate directly into litigation practice.
Sheila Sison Education and Academic Foundations
After completing high school in Quezon City, Sison enrolled at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts with a major in Writing. During her time at UPLB she participated actively in campus life. She founded and led multiple university organizations, served as Lady Chancellor of the UP Sigma Alpha Nu Sorority, and worked as Opinion Editor for the university’s student paper. She also earned recognition as Best Speaker and Best Campus Debater at the UP Campus Debate for two consecutive years. These activities developed public speaking, argumentation, and editorial skills that later proved useful in courtroom settings.
In 2001 she was selected as a Fellow in Poetry at the Ateneo de Manila University National Writers Workshop, indicating an early and sustained interest in creative writing alongside her academic and organizational work. This literary engagement remained a personal pursuit even as her professional focus shifted toward law.
She pursued her Bachelor of Laws at San Sebastian College of Law – Recoletos in Manila. There she studied as a full Academic Scholar of the Recoletos Order. She maintained consistent placement on the Dean’s List and graduated as Class Valedictorian. She also became the first recipient of the Academic Excellence Medal of Honor awarded by the Recoletos Educational Apostolate of the Philippines. These distinctions reflect sustained high performance throughout her legal studies. She was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2014.
The combination of a communication arts undergraduate degree and a top-ranked law school performance equipped her with both expressive clarity and technical legal knowledge. Her later role as a lecturer at San Sebastian College of Law – Recoletos further connected her academic background to the training of newer lawyers.
Sheila Sison Roots in Quezon City and Metro Manila
Quezon City, where Sison is publicly associated through schooling and hometown references, occupies a central place in the National Capital Region. Established as a planned city in the mid-twentieth century, it hosts major universities, government offices, and residential districts. The presence of Quezon City Science High School within its educational landscape has long attracted students seeking specialized secondary training. Metro Manila as a whole concentrates legal practice, with many firms and courts located in nearby Makati and Manila, the same areas where Sison later established her professional base.
Her educational trajectory from a Quezon City science high school to the University of the Philippines Los Baños and then to a Manila law school illustrates a common pattern among professionals who remain within the capital region while accessing institutions known for academic selectivity. Public records do not provide further geographic details such as a specific barangay of origin or family provincial ties beyond the Quezon City and broader Philippine context.
Sheila Sison Career
Sison joined the Fortun Narvasa & Salazar law firm and advanced to the rank of partner. The firm’s professional description characterizes her as a litigator who takes on demanding cases and focuses on delivering results that protect clients’ rights to life, liberty, and property. She has been recognized internally as the firm’s Lawyer of the Year for five consecutive years from 2015 to 2019, a record noted as a historical feat within the firm.
Sheila Sison Practice Areas and Litigation Work
Her primary specialization is criminal litigation. She has successfully defended clients in numerous cases before the Sandiganbayan, the specialized court that handles cases involving public officials and graft-related matters. Beyond criminal work she maintains extensive experience in civil litigation, family law, appellate practice, labor law, mining law, and corporate law. This breadth allows her to address intersecting legal issues that arise in complex disputes.
Membership in the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc., reflects engagement with alternative dispute resolution alongside traditional courtroom practice. Her work as a lecturer at San Sebastian College of Law – Recoletos extends her professional activity into legal education, where she contributes to the preparation of future practitioners.
Sheila Sison Role in the Sara Duterte Impeachment Proceedings
In 2026 Sison served as lead counsel for the sixteen-lawyer defense team representing Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate impeachment trial. The firm entered its appearance on behalf of the respondent. During the opening phase of the proceedings she opposed certain procedural requests from the prosecution, including arguments related to arraignment and the presence of the respondent through counsel rather than personal appearance. She delivered the defense opening presentation and emphasized constitutional due process, fairness, and adherence to the Senate’s impeachment rules.
Contemporaneous reporting noted her measured, legalistic approach focused on the Senate as a constitutional court. Senator Imee Marcos publicly described her as an experienced litigator who appeared passionate about her work after observing the first day of proceedings. The high-visibility role placed her courtroom style and legal arguments under sustained public and media attention.
Her handling of the case built on prior experience with high-stakes litigation, including Sandiganbayan matters. The impeachment representation remains one of the most publicly documented aspects of her career to date.
Sheila Sison Professional Recognition and Awards
Within Fortun Narvasa & Salazar she holds the record for being named Lawyer of the Year for five consecutive years spanning 2015 to 2019. Academic awards from her law school years include the Class Valedictorian distinction, consistent Dean’s List standing, full academic scholarship under the Recoletos Order, and the inaugural Academic Excellence Medal of Honor from the Recoletos Educational Apostolate of the Philippines.
No independent national or international legal awards beyond these firm and academic recognitions appear in the available public record. Her selection as a poetry fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University National Writers Workshop in 2001 stands as an earlier non-legal honor reflecting her writing background.
Sheila Sison Approach to Litigation and Client Advocacy
Public descriptions from her firm emphasize a commitment to excellence and a willingness to handle cases that ordinary practitioners might avoid. Her practice spans multiple fields, allowing coordinated handling of criminal, civil, labor, and corporate dimensions of disputes. Experience before the Sandiganbayan indicates familiarity with specialized procedural rules and the evidentiary standards applicable to cases involving public accountability.
In the impeachment setting she focused arguments on procedural regularity, representation through counsel, and the constitutional framework governing the Senate’s role. This approach aligns with a style that prioritizes textual and rule-based analysis over broader rhetorical appeals.
Sheila Sison Personal Life and Interests Outside the Law
Verified public information on Sison’s personal life remains limited. No confirmed details regarding marital status, children, or extended family appear in reliable sources. She has maintained an interest in creative writing, evidenced by her 2001 selection as a poetry fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University National Writers Workshop. Earlier campus involvement in debate, student journalism, and organizational leadership suggests a long-standing engagement with communication and advocacy outside formal legal practice.
As a lecturer at her former law school she continues to interact with students, linking professional experience to academic instruction. Membership in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc., forms part of her professional affiliations rather than purely personal activities.
Sheila Sison Public Profile and Media Attention
The 2026 impeachment proceedings brought Sison into national media coverage. Reporting focused on her educational background, firm affiliation, and courtroom statements. Separate fact-checking efforts addressed circulating claims that incorrectly identified her as the daughter of another public figure sharing the surname Sison; those claims were found to lack supporting evidence.
Her appearance and demeanor during Senate proceedings also drew occasional public comment, including light remarks about her hair, to which she responded that it was natural and that she had never undergone rebonding treatments. Such incidental coverage remained secondary to discussion of her legal arguments and procedural positions.
Conclusion
Atty. Sheila C. Sison has developed a legal career grounded in strong academic performance and consistent litigation practice. From Quezon City Science High School through the University of the Philippines Los Baños and San Sebastian College of Law – Recoletos, she accumulated credentials that supported her admission to the Bar in 2014 and subsequent partnership at Fortun Narvasa & Salazar. Recognition as the firm’s Lawyer of the Year for five consecutive years and successful work before the Sandiganbayan illustrate professional consistency. Her leadership of the defense team in the 2026 Vice President Sara Duterte impeachment trial placed those skills on a national stage. Available records portray a practitioner focused on criminal litigation and related fields, supplemented by earlier interests in writing and campus leadership. Future developments in her practice will continue to be shaped by the same combination of preparation and courtroom experience that has defined her work to date.
FAQs
Who is Atty. Sheila Sison?
Atty. Sheila C. Sison is a Filipino lawyer and partner at the Fortun Narvasa & Salazar law firm. She specializes in criminal litigation and has experience in civil litigation, family law, appellate practice, labor law, mining law, and corporate law. In 2026 she served as lead defense counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate impeachment trial.
When was Sheila Sison born?
Public records from her law firm state that she was born in 1976. No more specific date of birth is widely documented in reliable sources.
Where is Sheila Sison from?
She is associated with Quezon City in Metro Manila, Philippines, through her high school education at Quezon City Science High School and public references to her hometown. She is a Filipino national.
What is Sheila Sison’s educational background?
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts, major in Writing, from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws from San Sebastian College of Law – Recoletos, where she was a full Academic Scholar, consistent Dean’s Lister, Class Valedictorian, and the first recipient of the Academic Excellence Medal of Honor from the Recoletos Educational Apostolate of the Philippines. She was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2014.
What awards has Sheila Sison received?
She was named Lawyer of the Year by Fortun Narvasa & Salazar for five consecutive years from 2015 to 2019. Academic honors include Class Valedictorian status, the Academic Excellence Medal of Honor, and full academic scholarship during law school. She was also selected as a Fellow in Poetry at the Ateneo de Manila University National Writers Workshop in 2001.
Is Sheila Sison related to Jose Sison of Ipaglaban Mo?
No. Fact-checking reports based on Jose Sison’s own published statements about his family have confirmed that he had one daughter named Joyce, who passed away, and five sons. There is no public record linking Atty. Sheila Sison to that family.
What role did Sheila Sison play in the Sara Duterte impeachment trial?
She served as the lead counsel of the sixteen-lawyer defense team. She presented opening arguments focused on due process and constitutional requirements, opposed certain procedural motions by the prosecution, and represented the respondent throughout the early stages of the Senate proceedings.
Does Sheila Sison teach or lecture?
Yes. She has served as a lecturer at San Sebastian College of Law – Recoletos de Manila, the same institution where she earned her law degree.
What other professional affiliations does she hold?
She is a member of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc., and of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
Has Sheila Sison handled cases at the Sandiganbayan?
Yes. Her firm profile states that she has successfully defended clients in numerous cases before the Sandiganbayan, consistent with her specialization in criminal litigation.