The third trimester of 2013 was an extremely active and meaningful period for the Chapter, with the Board of Directors strengthening past projects and moving forward with new and innovative ones.
General Matters
Following its participation in the National Legal Summit held in September 2013, the Chapter began efforts to balance the continuing obligation and duty of its members to support the IBP, with reasonable benefits available to its members, such as the exemption of members from the MMDA Number Coding Scheme, and the exemption of legal aid lawyers from fees and charges imposed by the courts. This “balancing of interests” also became the theme of some of the projects of the various Chapter Committees.
Legal Aid
The Chapter continued to implement new strategies to streamline its legal aid operations to ensure the efficient handling of legal aid cases. These strategies include, among others, rationalizing the acceptance of cases, the schedule of legal aid consultations, allocation of costs and fees, and reports to IBP National.
However, the Chapter noted that its reports are not timely reflected in IBP National’s reports despite the regular transmission of the Chapter’s reports to the IBP Main Office.
The status report for the legal aid cases being handled by the Chapter is available upon request.
Special Concerns
In October 2013, the Chapter issued a statement on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Scandal that was not only strongly worded, but also clearly indicated the willingness of the Chapter to assist the Office of the Ombudsman in the prosecution of the offenders. The full statement was published on the Chapter’s official website (www.ibpmakati.com) and in Volume VIII, Issue 2 of the Chapter’s official newsletter. Representatives of the Chapter also joined the October 2013 Million People March, further signifying its stand against the Pork Barrel scam.
In response to the devastation following Typhoon Yolanda, the Chapter made a significant contribution to the fund-raising drive organized by IBP National for the rehabilitation of the members of IBP Tacloban and IBP Samar who were badly hit by the typhoon. The Chapter will continue to monitor this fund raising project. The Chapter also spearheaded a Christmas gift-giving project for Yolanda survivors by collecting toys and footwear that will be distributed to the residents of Guian, Samar.
Developmental Legal Aid
In October 2013, the Chapter sponsored the “Lex Aqua Underwater and Coastal Clean-up Drive”, a project of the Chapter’s Developmental Legal Aid Committee which resulted in the collection of almost 110 kilos of garbage, mostly plastic straws. The Chapter’s findings from the clean-up drive will be shared with the City Council of Makati as a means of expressing the Chapter’s support for legislation banning the use of plastic bags and straws in Makati City.
The Chapter also co-sponsored the Office of the Ombudsman’s Forum on Anti-Corruption Drive held at the Ateneo de Manila School of Law. During the Forum, the Chapter reiterated its commitment to provide any form of legal assistance that the Office of the Ombudsman would require in relation to the PDAF Scandal.
In December 2013, the Chapter participated in the legal consultancy program for Overseas Filipino Workers organized by the National Committee on Legal Aid at the request of the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA). During its assigned shift, the Chapter manned the help desk at the POEA to assist overseas workers with concerns regarding administrative requirements set by the government.
Bench and Bar
In December 2013, the Chapter held a dialogue with the Makati Court Judges and the Publc Attorney’s Office (PAO) on the apparent conflict faced by the PAO in counseling and prosecuting indigent clients. It also discussed with the PAO the suggestion that all of the Chapter’s legal aid clients be automatically considered pauper litigants so they can benefit from the exemption on legal fees and costs. The results of this and future dialogues will be the basis of new rules of cooperation.
Legal Education
The Chapter continued to update its Legal Education Updates blog (http://ibpmakatilegaleducation.wordpress.com/) which contains digests of recent Supreme Court decisions, rulings of administrative agencies, and other useful content for the Chapter’s members. The blog is also linked to the Chapter’s official website (www.ibpmakati.com).
Public Affairs and Programs
To continue to be of service to the Makati Community, the Chapter reached out to the Association of Barangay Councils of Makati to explore legal needs at the grassroots level. The Chapter also conferred with various Chambers of Commerce in Makati with the end in view of aligning common projects such as legal aid and legislation. The results of these consultations will be the basis of new Chapter projects.
Membership, Publications and Fellowships
The third trimester of 2013 also saw:
1. The increase in new members of the Chapter.
2. The renaming of the Chapter’s official newsletter to “The Cirillon,” in honor of the past president of the Chapter who founded the newsletter.
3. The holding of the Christmas Fellowship of the Chapter with the theme: “Maligayang Pagbangon, Maligayang Pasko”. The Fellowship served as the venue for the collection of donations for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda,
Bienvenido I. Somera. Jr.
President, IBP Makati Chapter