Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo on Friday, June 4, received a virtual courtesy call from representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI).
Gesmundo paid tribute to the support of USAID and ABA-ROLI to the Supreme Court’s (SC) programs such as the ACCESS project which provides access to justice through legal awareness and legal aid services to vulnerable communities.
The project, Gesmundo said, also “supports the institutionalization of pro bono (for the public good) legal services through the various chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), improve training programs for accredited mediators, and support the implementation and raise the awareness on recent Court reforms.”
ABA-ROLI, on the other hand, told Gesmundo it is tapping the IBP chapters in providing pro bono services.
Gesmundo welcomed the ABA-ROLI’s initiative and even suggested that local IBP chapters “should assist law schools, and work together.”
As chairperson of the 2019 Legal Education Summit (LES) Organizing Committee, Gesmundo narrated why the SC had to revise the Law Student Practice Rule.
He said the amendments “were intended to ensure that law graduates are ready to practice should they pass the Bar and engage in litigation before the courts.”
He then suggested to ABA-ROLI how it can “review existing training programs, in coordination with the Philippine Judicial Academy, redesign courses that focus on developing skills for judges and training for innovative approaches in teaching legal ethics.”
He also cited the need for training on court-annexed mediation to improve the skills of mediators.
In response, ABA-ROLI welcomed the Chief Justice’s suggestions and described them as “incredibly useful.”
The SC’s public information office (PIO) said the USAID and ABA-ROLI groups were led by Senior Democracy, Rights and Governance Specialist Mr. Gerardo Porta, Country Director Ms. Susan J. Cowley, Senior Program Manager Atty. Liezl Parajas, and Senior Program Officer Atty. Jadelee Marquez.
On part of the SC, Gesmundo was joined by Associate Justices Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Rosmari D. Carandang, Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Henri Jean Paul B. Inting and Ricardo R. Rosario, Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, Assistant Court Administrator and SC Spokesperson Brian Keith F. Hosaka and Judicial Program Reform Administrator Laura C.H. Del Rosario.