The Supreme Court (SC) holds the last leg of its Ethics Caravan at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila on Friday, Jan. 27, on information and consultation drive for the proposed Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA).
The CPRA is the proposed set of rules on the ethical conduct and accountability of lawyers in the practice of law. It would amend the 34-year-old Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) of lawyers.
The first four caravans were held in Cebu City on Sept. 14, 2022 for Regions VI, VII, VIII, and the province of Palawan; Davao City, Oct. 24, 2022 for Regions IX, X, XI, XII, CARAGA, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; Naga City on Nov.10, 2022 for Regions IV-B, and V; and in Baguio City on Jan. 11, 2023 for Regions I, II, and Cordillera Autonomous Region.
The caravans will culminate in the National Summit on Ethical Standards for Lawyers which will be held in February 2023, the SC’s public information office (PIO) said.
The PIO said the caravans were organized by the SC through its Sub-Committee for the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs andTrade-Australia, The Asia Foundation, The European Union, Justice Sector Reform Program: Governance in Justice (GOJUST), the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), and the Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS).
During the second leg of the caravan at the University of Mindanao in Davao City, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo rallied the members of the legal community “to give dignity and nobility to the profession so as to regain the trust of the people in lawyers and in the entire justice system.”
“This a clarion call for all of us to take the responsibility of giving dignity and nobility to our profession, and by so doing, put back the trust of our people not only in lawyers, but in the justice system as a whole,” Gesmundo said.
He pointed out that lawyers, as officers of the court, “play a key role in the administration of justice and upholding the rule of law.”
But he said the legal profession “is no stranger to allegations of scandal and controversy.”
He said the proposed CPRA seeks to improve and modernize the practice of law. It tackles the use of social media, formation and definition of the lawyer-client relationship, conduct of non-legal staff and other intricacies experienced by practitioners today, he said.
“The CPRA also consolidates separate regulations pertaining to the discipline of lawyers,” he stressed.
“It also abbreviates administrative proceedings and imposes a standardized table of penalties for varying degrees of offenses. The CPRA not only addresses the punitive aspect of the unethical legal practice but also captures the ideal characteristics that all members of the bar must live up to — independence, propriety, fidelity, competence and diligence, equality, and accountability,” he added.
Also, during the previous caravans, the Chief Justice gave the participants an overview of the SC’s five-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations (SPJI) which is anchored on four guiding principles — timely and fair justice, transparent and accountable justice, equal and inclusive justice, and technologically adaptive management — to achieve three outcomes — efficiency innovation, and access.
In his messages, SC Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen highlighted the proposed changes in the Lawyers’ Oath, including adding the word “justice” for the first time, and underscoring the value of the oath as “the basic foundation of what a lawyer means.”
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