Justice Caguioa Leads Unveiling of IBP’s National Center for Legal Aid Hall
July 6, 2023
Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa leads the inauguration and blessing of the National Center for Legal Aid (NCLA) Hall of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in its office in Pasig City today, July 6, 2023. He is assisted by Past IBP National President Atty. Burt M. Estrada. Looking on is (left of Justice Caguioa) newly-elected IBP National President Atty. Antonio C. Pido. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
“[F]ree legal aid is no longer just an aspiration for some, but a reality for all.”
Thus said Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, as he led the inauguration and blessing of the National Center for Legal Aid (NCLA) Hall of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in Pasig City today.
Justice Caguioa said that the unveiling of the NCLA Hall, which is located at the ground floor of the IBP Building in Pasig City, has been most encouraging as it reinforced the IBP’s commitment “to ensuring that those of us who are most disadvantaged and increasingly vulnerable can have a fighting chance at safeguarding their rights and their fair day in the courts.”
“Today’s unveiling of the new National Center for Legal Aid facilitates the access to essential legal and social services, and widens the scope of the reach of the IBP’s public service. With its technology-ready design and its new and more convenient location, this move strengthens the justice system’s efforts to embrace the demands of the Filipinos whose legal needs may yet be contemplated by the prevailing system. And while challenges abound in the area of bringing access to legal aid to all, this new NCLA Hall is certainly a significantly optimistic step in that direction,” Justice Caguioa said.
Justice Caguioa remarked that the latest initiative of the IBP “energizes the legal communities’ work of restoring the dignity to so many Filipinos who are truly the least, the last and the lost, and ultimately, strengthens the country’s democratic fabric within which all our lives are woven.”
In his opening remarks, former IBP National President Atty. Burt M. Estrada said that the NCLA show the IBP’s resolve that “the heart of IBP is free legal aid services.” He mentioned that the space which the NCLA Hall now occupies was unutilized for some time and that the NCLA’s transfer from its old location at the fourth floor to the ground floor sends a strong signal that IBP Legal Aid Services have expanded, and that there is access to justice, especially to indigent clients.
Newly-elected IBP National President Atty. Antonio C. Pido, concluded the occasion by expressing his gratitude to his predecessor for the NCLA legacy. He called on IBP members to maximize this legacy and to continue working together to better the lawyers’ organization.
The latest undertaking of the IBP is attuned with the Supreme Court’s objective of strengthening legal aid initiatives under the banner of its Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI).
The Court and the IBP have previously convened the 2022 National Legal Aid Summit in November of last year in Bacolod City to develop a roadmap that will amplify, provide, and sustain avenues of access towards the constitutional guarantee of adequate legal assistance through various plenary discussions, dialogues, keynote addresses, and breakout sessions. Titled “Reimagining the Art of Legal Empowerment: National Summit on Access to Justice through Cultivating Approaches on Legal Aid,” the Summit was organized by the Court and the IBP in partnership with the Philippine Association of Law Schools, the Free Legal Assistance Group, and Alternative Law Groups.
Under the SPJI, the IBP, which receives a yearly subsidy from the Judiciary, shall also strengthen its legal aid program by using the subsidy to require the mandatory service of its members as supervising lawyers for Law Student Practitioners under Rule 138-A, to be assigned on the basis of IBP Chapter membership in the areas where law student clinics operate; and, set up and allow free computer use with internet access in their Chapter offices for their members who need the same. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa and former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) National President Atty. Burt M. Estrada unveil the marker of the National Center for Legal Aid Hall of the IBP located at the ground floor of its office in Pasig City. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa and former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) National President Atty. Burt M. Estrada unveil the marker of the National Center for Legal Aid Hall of the IBP located at the ground floor of its office in Pasig City. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa poses for posterity with (from left) newly-elected IBP National President Atty. Antonio C. Pido, IBP National Executive Director Jose Perpetuo M. Lotilla, and former IBP National President Atty. Burt M. Estrada during the inauguration and blessing of the National Center for Legal Aid Hall of the IBP located at the ground floor of IBP Building in Pasig City. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)