THE PHILIPPINE Supreme Court’s (SC) Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS) Regional Consultations goes Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday, April 18, to firm up the rules on requiring covered lawyers to render 60 hours of pro bono work for indigent Filipinos.
The technical working group (TWG) headed by Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa kicked off the four-leg ULAS Regional Consultation last April 12 in Baguio City.
The event is “for stakeholders to discuss the proposed Rules, deliberate on its salient provisions, and provide feedback and insights that will be taken into consideration in drafting the final rules,” the SC said in a statement on Monday.
Participants consist of lawyers from small-sized firms, lawyers from medium/large-sized firms, solo practitioners, in-house counsels, lawyers employed by NGOs/NPOs (non-government organizations/non-profit organizations), and members of the academe, it said.
Following the Cagayan de Oro leg, the regional consultations will proceed to Makati City on May 17, and then Iloilo City at a still unspecified date.
The highlight of each ULAS Regional Consultation is the breakout session, where participants can “discuss the proposed Rules, review its provisions, and voice out their suggestions.”
Eventually, the aims is to implement how covered practitioners would provide at least 60 hours of pro bono legal aid services to underprivileged Filipinos and members of marginalized communities each for a compliance period of three years. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana