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| Guests in the FGD including ABA ROLI Director for Asia and the Pacific Division, Elisabeth Baraka (top row, third from left). |
In its four sessions, the FGD covered topics on the provision of remote legal services, best practices and challenges in academia, lawyers’ readiness to provide online services, and issues in relation to privacy and confidentiality. Designed to draw recommendations from the Bar membership and other service providers in the government and civil society sector, the FGD featured speakers from amongst the oldest and most respected legal aid institutions in the country, like the Free Legal Assistance Group, UP College of Law Office of Legal Aid, the Commission on Human Rights, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the Ateneo Human Rights Center, and Balaod Mindanaw Incorporated (which is member organization of the Alternative Law Groups).
The FGD was attended by ABA ROLI Director for Asia and the Pacific, Elisabeth Baraka, and USAID Senior Democracy and Governance Manager, Gerardo Porta, who delivered the Closing Remarks. Joining them were Mr. Marlon Manuel, Senior Legal Advisor for NAMATI, and Mr. Aaron Chan, Pro Bono Associate of DLA Piper Hong Kong.
Held during the fifth month of COVID-19-related quarantines and lockdowns in the Philippines, the FGD is the first step to larger training sessions provided by IBP members on remote legal aid in the 87 IBP chapters throughout the Philippines.
Below are highlights from the FGD.
Atty. Susan J. Cowley, ABA ROLI Philippines’ Country Director, gave a brief overview of the Access to Justice and Support for the Rule of Law Project (ACCESS Project). Cowley explained that the meeting was designed to gather information regarding the Philippine experience across the legal sector during the pandemic. The gathered information collected will be used to design a training module for lawyers and paralegals— which will be implemented in partnership with IBP and DLA Piper.
Atty. Domingo Q. Cayosa, IBP National President shared with the guests that IBP takes inspiration for its work from the proud legacy of the Bar organization providing legal aid nationwide, without discrimination. He further noted that IBP’s legal aid has expanded over the years and enjoys the support and commitment of its partners, including ABA ROLI and USAID. Speaking to the challenges brought about by COVID-19, the National President emphasized that the current leadership of IBP promotes the institutional campaign of IBP to do better, more, and faster. Atty. Cayosa reiterated the IBP campaign of ‘Justice Bilis not Justice Tiis’ (speedy justice not justice delayed), and its related advocacy in support of a cheaper, efficient and corruption free justice process.
Atty. Marlon Manuel, Senior Legal Adviser, NAMATI, discussed ongoing collaboration among NAMATI, DLA Piper and Open Society Justice Initiative, in developing a manual on international best practices involving remote legal assistance. He noted that in the Philippines, it is not so much the capacity of the legal aid providers but the challenges relating to poverty, internet connectivity, and access to electricity that affects delivery of the service. The manual, once finalized, will feature different technology-enabled ways to provide remote legal aid in addition to popular tools like Zoom. Manuel also spoke at the session on confidentiality and privacy rights of clients. He pointed out that in the Philippine context, confidentiality and privacy are more relevant on the side of those who access legal services or the clients. As an illustrative case, he referenced the concern raised by prison rights groups that due to limited resources, persons deprived of liberty (PDL), if at all able to communicate to lawyers or personal relations, do not enjoy confidentiality or privacy because there are few dedicated telephones or computers.
Atty. Aaron Chan, DLA Piper Hong Kong, spoke on the confidentiality and privacy rights of clients in the provision of remote legal services, citing common examples already in practice. Mr. Chan echoed the statement from NAMATI that the convenience of technology should never come at the expense of client’s rights. Particularly for pro bono lawyers, Mr. Chan recommended they develop their own protocols and use of dedicated software for remote lawyering.
Atty. Theodore Te, Regional Advisor for the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), provided a brief historical background of FLAG— noting that it was established in 1974 shortly after the declaration of the first Martial Law in the Philippines, and that it is the oldest network of HR lawyers in the Philippines. Today, FLAG provides not only litigation based assistance but also legal education and reform advocacy. Like many organizations in the Philippines, FLAG has been conducting most of its services online and its own challenges include security concerns for its lawyers. Mr. Te, who also teaches law at the University of the Philippines (UP), spoke about UP’s programs on Clinical Legal Education and UP Law Helps, which was established in response to the overwhelming demand for legal aid during the strict community quarantine that saw thousands of individuals arrested for quarantine or curfew violations.
Atty. Ruth Torre, Governor for IBP Central Luzon and representative of the IBP National Center for Legal Aid informed the guests of the efforts of the Bar in responding to requests for legal assistance. A majority of these requests came when the Philippine government enforced a lockdown in the majority of its provinces and cities. In response, the IBP put in place ‘hotlines’ with dedicated lawyers assigned on rotation to be able to accommodate as many calls as possible.
Atty. Jason James Jorvina, Governor for IBP Eastern Visayas, shared information on the services provided in other Chapters of IBP aside from legal aid assistance. Atty. Jorvina spoke about the humanitarian interventions voluntarily undertaken by the Chapters through their officers in response to the COVID-19 lockdown. He explained that the IBP members’ community relief operations were in response to the initial sense of frustration by the legal community that they were unable to extend help to marginalized sectors in the country.
Ms. Maria Salvaor, Director for Internship Program, Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) leads a training program for prospective lawyers keen on pursuing public interest law practice. AHRC’s lawyers and paralegals were some of the first in the Philippines to shift to online legal aid in March.
Atty. Jasmin Regino, Director for Protection Cluster, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) highlighted the innovations introduced to CHR’s legal assistance programs in response to COVID-19. Sharing that CHR created its own ‘e-lawyering’ and ‘e-report sa Gender Ombud’ which is a portal dedicated to submitting complaints or information related to women’s human rights. Atty. Regino also shared information on CHR’s ‘Tanggol Himpapawid, Tanggol Karapatan Online’, the newest of the online platforms focused on COVID-19 related human rights violations.
Mr. Gerardo Porta, USAID Senior Democracy and Governance Manager delivered the Closing Remarks in the focus group discussion. He thanked the participants for their contributions and acknowledged ABA ROLI’s efforts for organizing an important event and timely discussion on the provision of remote legal services for the marginalized population in the Philippines. Mr. Porta expressed appreciation for IBP’s efforts through its current leadership and affirmed the statement of IBP President Egon Cayosa that the current COVID-19 crisis requires the Bar should do more, better, and faster.
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