ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Access to justice by poor people should 'not merely provide free legal services' – SC Justice Leonen

Access to justice by poor people should 'not merely provide free legal services' – SC Justice Leonen

Published May 25, 2024 03:10 am

The country’s lawyers have been urged to elevate legal aid to a higher level instead of merely providing an access to justice that “scratches only the surface of systemic injustices and issues that many marginalized groups, identities, and communities continue to face.” 

Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen has declared that access to justice does not only mean that expedient and legal services are afforded to the underprivileged and marginalized. 

“Legal aid involves working with communities to see what works, to solve existing legal problems, and their underlying economic, social, and political issues,” Justice Leonen stressed. 

Leonen is the chairperson of the SC Committee on Access to Justice in Underserved Areas and the Committee on Human Rights.

He addressed the lawyers during the “National Presentation -- Stories from the Field: Overcoming Barriers to Access to Justice through Grassroots Action” held last May 22 in Quezon City. 

The SC has been conducting regional information drive for the issuance the rules on the Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS) that is expected to enhance legal aid and require lawyers to render at least 60 hours of pro bono (free of charge) legal aid services to the marginalized and the underprivileged.

Proposed beneficiaries under ULAS are indigents, members of the marginalized sectors with respect to their public interest cases, and non-governmental and non-profit organizations with respect to cases or matters that are beneficial to indigents and marginalized sector.

Pro bono legal aid services include representation in courts and quasi-judicial bodies, legal counselling, assistance in contract negotiations, developmental legal assistance, participation in accredited legal outreach programs, and other legal services as defined by the SC.

The fourth leg of the regional information drive will be held on May 31 at the university of San Agustin in Iloilo City. 

The information drive is led by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and other SC associate justices.

The technical working group mandated to draft the ULAS is headed by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa.

In his message to lawyers, the SC’s public information office (PIO) said that Justice Leonen shared his experiences as a public interest lawyer as part of an organization that focused on servicing indigenous communities. 

Based on his encounters with the marginalized, Leonen acknowledged the “need for a conscious effort to bridge communities and the law.” He also underscored the significance of legal empowerment in improving access to justice.

After his message, Leonen addressed the queries from the attendees, most of whom are lawyers from the Alternative Law Groups, Inc. (ALG), a coalition of lawyers engaged in “developmental legal assistance primarily concerned with the pursuit of public interest, respect for human rights, and promoting social justice.”

The SC’s PIO said that during the event, key findings of the legal empowerment research on “Stories from the Field: Overcoming Barriers to Access to Justice through Grassroots Action,” were presented.

Conducted by the ALG and supported by the International Development Research Centre Canada, the PIO said the study aims “to generate knowledge and evidence on key legal empowerment approaches and their contribution to empowering and strengthening grassroots communities’ participation and collective action to bridge access to justice gaps.” 

Other speakers during the event were Atty. Jazz Tamayo, Atty. Sheila Grace Formento, Atty. Anna Liza B. Mones, Atty. Ritz Lee Santos III from the ALG; Atty. Gemma Parojinog, director, Human Rights Policy Advisory Office, Commission on Human Rights; and Atty. Myline J. Urmenita Palisoc, overall deputy director, Integrated Bar of the Philippines National Center for Legal Aid. Atty. Anna Liza Mones from ALG served as event moderator. 

 

 

 

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.