Her Story
About Atty. Lilibeth
Atty. Lilibeth Aguzar Llagas, CFE, CSS, CFCI is a licensed Philippine Lawyer and an Industrial Engineer turned Law Enforcer. A recipient of a 2008 Presidential Commendation issued on behalf of the President of the Philippines for her valuable participation in then largest drugs confiscation in Philippine history, she also received a 2010 Commendation from the Dangerous Drugs Board and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for leading a field operation that recovered huge amount of cocaine. She was the only female Field Operative of then Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG)'s Special Operations and was assigned to work with the National Bureau of Investigation. As one of the top officials of the Task Force Subic, she represented PASG and TFS in courts, congressional committee, and supreme court committee hearings. Prior to immigrating to the United States, she served as a Legal Consultant for the highest official in the Dangerous Drugs Board under the Office of the President of the Philippines and as a Legal Consultant for the highest executive in the National Resources Development Corporation which is the corporate and investment arm of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In the United States, Atty. Llagas established a career in Risk and Regulatory Compliance, primarily Fraud, Anti-Money Laundering, and Global Sanctions investigations. She previously worked for some of the largest financial institutions, such as JPMorgan Chase, BMO Financial Group, and HSBC, and is now the QA of Fortune 6 company and healthcare giant CVS Health's Financial Crimes Compliance - Sanctions Screening program. She designed CVS Health's 2020-2023 Sanctions Screening Tool and 2024-2025 Sanctions and PEP Screening Tool. She also currently serves as Executive Officer - Assistant Auditor of Philippine Engineers and Scientists Organization, a 501c3 professional organization in Illinois.
Atty. Llagas is currently accepting Pro Bono Criminal Defense cases in New York, Illinois, Michigan, or Florida via pro hac vice practice while preparing for New York Bar admission.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Atty. Lilibeth
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my kids, Clyde and Claire. Having them gives me strength to continue even if I sometimes feel I want to give up. I persevere to reach my goals despite difficulties to inspire them to do the same.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Always cover your bases and watch out for what's behind you. In my area of work in law enforcement, law, and investigations, what it seems is not always the truth. Hence, it is important to be keen. You need to defend what you said and what you did and be able to prove them.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be brave and persevere. If you know what you want, keep trying even if the path is difficult. Turn obstacles into stepping stones in order to achieve your goals.
I never thought that I would be a Field Operative in an Anti-Smuggling Task Force under the Office of the President of the Philippines. I was the only female in the Special Operations Group. And as far as I know, I was their only female Operative in the field in the entire country at one point because then Heads of the Task Force believed that large-scale smuggling and drugs operations are meant for men and dangerous for women. The path to get in was not easy. While deficient in physical strength, I became on par with my colleagues in intelligence and logic. I made known where I am good at -- and that's how I made it. While I was in Law Enforcement for just a couple of years, I left with Commendations that I thought I can only receive in dreams. Today, I am preparing to embark on another journey - that is to practice Law and defend the wrongfully accused. I want no innocent to go to prison on my watch. I will do everything in my power to make truth prevail.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There is only a small number of Filipinos in the United States and only few are in the fields of Legal, Engineering, and Investigation. For someone like me, therefore, opportunities appear to be limited. People would always have personal biases and there is nothing that we can do about it. I am currently still not in the place where i expect to be and so I continue to learn and find ways to improve my credentials -- hoping that one day I can finally say "I'm all set".
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I value truthfulness and righteousness. The truth is where I get my strength from. No matter how dangerous a situation may be, no matter how scary it is, no matter how powerful your opponents are, if you have the truth, there is not much to worry about. At the end of the day, truth will prevail. Always choose to do the right thing as it will give you peace, freedom from guilt, and right-standing with God.
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