A leader of the House of Representatives has pushed for the passage of the bill proposing the establishment by law schools, both public and private, of free legal aid centers.
Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles, vice chairman of the House committee on justice, said the enactment of his House Bill 2993 “provide underprivileged Filipinos with legal services they need, but cannot afford.”
“The Constitution guarantees equal delivery of justice, but in the case of the poor, they cannot afford to hire lawyers. Thus the need for the establishment by law schools of legal aid offices that will offer services to the poor who need to go to the courts or quasi-judicial offices,” Nograles said.
Nograles said that the Public Attorney’s Office is already “chronically undermanned, overworked, and underpaid” and the best possible solution right now is utilizing all the existing law schools in the country to provide pro-bono services to the underprivileged.
“We need to find alternative ways to provide poor Filipinos with legal counsel,” said Nograles.