The Supreme Court (SC) has held its fourth and final leg of regional consultation process on the Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS) rules, one of the latest judicial reform projects under its Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 at the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City.
The SC said the ULAS regional consultations were a series of consultative discussions on the proposed rules, meant to govern the mandatory rendition of pro bono legal aid services by covered lawyers to qualified beneficiaries comprising of indigents; members of marginalized sectors with respect to their public interest cases; and non-governmental and non-profit organizations involved in cases beneficial to indigents and members of the marginalized sectors.
The consultation process commenced in Baguio City last April and was held subsequently in Cagayan de Oro City followed by Makati City.
In his speech, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo stressed that the ULAS Rules aim to put in place a unified and streamlined framework for legal aid services.
He said the SC, through the creation of the ULAS Rules, hopes to give the indigent, underrepresented, and marginalized members of society full and effective access to justice.
“Prescinding from previous legal aid service rules, our proposed ULAS Rules seek to make mandatory legal aid service in the country pursuant to the duty of every lawyer to participate in the development of a legal system, improve the administration of justice, and strengthen the judicial and legal system,” the Chief Justice said.
According to him, the proposed ULAS Rules will allow the aggregation of creditable hours by covered lawyers in registered organizations, “so that these organizations can determine who among its lawyers are best suited to address the needs of the qualified beneficiaries.”
Gesmundo also presented some of the salient points raised during the previous legs of the regional consultations. First, the determination, computation, and monitoring of the actual hours served should be clarified, given the nuances between the ULAS Rules and this Court’s previous initiatives to promote pro bono legal service.
Second, Chief Justice Gesmundo emphasized the importance of implementing safeguards for the aggregation of creditable hours in registered organizations to reduce or eliminate possible unfairness and abuse among lawyers. He also suggested that the Court could provide additional incentives for lawyers who comply with the requirements.
The top magistrate then extended the Court’s gratitude to the developmental partners, the Australian Government – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and The Asia Foundation (TAF), for supporting the ULAS Regional Consultations, which he said “is part of the Fostering Advancement of Inclusive and Rights-based Justice, or FAIR Justice Program,” which is a product of the robust partnership between the Supreme Court of the Philippines and the Australian Government.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Chairperson of the Technical Working Group (TWG) o Draft the ULAS Rules also expressed his gratitude to the DFAT and TAF, and to everyone who have extended their assistance especially the members of the legal profession who participated in the discussions during the regional consultations.
Emphasizing that the ULAS Rules will only be as good as the way they materialize in the nation’s real experiences, Justice Caguioa said: “In inceptum finis est. The end is in the beginning… And so as we end the regional consultations today towards finalizing the fifth draft, please note that this is just the beginning of more work that must still be done.”
He shared that the TWG will begin collating and evaluating all input and feedback from the consultations for the consideration of the Court in drafting the final version of the ULAS Rules.
Justice Caguioa stressed the need to set up the ULAS board, which will be in charge of the implementation and administration of the ULAS Rules. “Similar to the MCLE (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education) Office and the MCLE governing board, the ULAS board and o9ffice will be primarily tasked to monitor the effectiveness of the rules and the compliance thereof and, with the approval of the Court, institute policies to improve its system,” he said, adding that the ULAS board will also lead the drafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the ULAS Rules.
Besides, Caguioa said that continued partnerships and interoperations with other government agencies and organizations which share the purpose of the ULAS Rules must push on, including coordination with the Department of Justice Action Center for the broadening of the base from which the ULAS Rules will stand.
Caguioa encouraged every stakeholder “to stay farsighted when you view the ULAS Rules, and imagine the kind of society that we can contribute to building through it,” by imagining “a nation where people will not think twice about pursuing justice just because they could not afford it; where access to justice is far from being priced, packaged and stacked against the poor. Where due process is not commodified and sold to the highest bidder. We invite you to hold that vision in your mind, even as it situates you right at the edge of what we have already done, and what we can still, with courage and together, continue to attempt to do.”
“Whether you are in favor of the ULAS Rules, against it, or otherwise ambivalent as to its provisions, it is but consistent with all good reason that we understand the price that is being paid for its absence,” he stressed.
Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda, vice-chairperson of the TWG, said that the ULAS Rules is “the Court’s revolutionary initiative to finally and firmly institutionalize effective, efficient, and attainable legal aid service for those who need it.”
He said that the proposed rules “were drafted with a keen sensitivity to the realities of lawyers,” adding that the Court took into consideration the earlier pushback in the implementation of the Mandatory Legal Aid Services (MLAS) and the Rule on Community Legal Aid Service (CLAS) issued in 2009 and 2017, respectively. Both the MLAS and CLAS did not hold up in the face of challenges to their implementation and were suspended shortly after promulgation.
Joining Justice Caguioa and Justice Zalameda in concluding the ULAS Regional Consultations was Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, who was the co-lead Justice of the consultation’s Cagayan De Oro City leg.
Acting Ambassador of Australian to the Philippines Dr. Moya Collett, in a video message, reiterated her government’s commitment “to supporting the Supreme Court’s judicial reform agenda.”
In his welcome remarks, Rev. Fr. Frederick C. Comendador, OSA, president of the University of San Agustin, Iloilo City, expressed that the University “is proud to partner in these regional consultations.” He added, “with this event, we know that we become an instrument, through the Supreme Court, to help the marginalized.”
An overview of the proposed rules and its key provisions was given by lawyer Joseph Anthony Lopez of the Villaraza & Angangco Law prior to the breakout session while lawyer Roslyn Bianca Mangaser of ACCRALAW gave a recap and summary of all the recommendations from participants. Both the Villaraza & Angangco Law and ACCRALAW are members of the technical working group.
Also present at the ULAS Regional Consultations – Iloilo leg were other representatives from University of San Agustin, Rev. Fr. Mamerto Alfeche, OSA, Regent of College of Law, lawyer Jose Mari Benjamin Francisco Tirol, Dean of College of Law, and Integrated Bar of the Philippines national president Antonio Pido.
