The Department of Justice (DOJ) has tapped the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for legal assistance to indigent persons who are not qualified to avail themselves of the services of the Public Attorneys Office (PAO).

The memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra and IBP President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa last Monday, March 8.

The MOA provides “to strengthen the cooperation between the DOJAC (DOJ Action Center) and the IBP in the implementation of their respective mandates of providing assistance to the public, particularly indigent clients who are not qualified to avail of the services of the PAO, through endorsement/referral of cases, with the end view of promoting and enhancing the trust of the public in the legal system.”

Under the MOA, the DOJAC will endorse to the IBP persons who “do not meet the definition of an ‘indigent client’ or those who are disqualified to avail themselves of the services of the PAO…”

The IBP agreed under the MOA to accommodate “cases referred by DOJAC and evaluate them based on IBP’s means and merit tests and other relevant factors.”

If these persons still do not qualify to get free legal aid from the IBP, the IBP will “refer the client to a lawyer or law group to handle the case/account under reduced or socialized legal fees.”

The DOJAC was set up in 1995 “to provide free legal service and assistance -- including consultations, mediation, conciliation and arbitration -- to the public especially the marginalized and less privileged citizens of the country.”

The IBP is “a body corporate” that was set up “to elevate the standards of the legal profession, improve the administration of justice, and enable the Bar to discharge its public responsibility more effectively.”

The IBP has established “a free legal aid program to help the indigent and the marginalized and seeks to maintain maximum levels of coordination and cooperation with other organizations having similar objectives.”