Councilor-elect Rama's first priority measure: Institutionalize legal aid

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor-elect Mikel Rama said he wanted to institutionalize a city's legal aid to support underprivileged individuals.

Rama, a lawyer by profession, said he recognized the persistent struggle that many residents are facing in accessing legal services.

“In Cebu City, it’s not uncommon for people to deal with legal concerns in silence simply because legal services are not affordable,” he said.

However, recent developments provided a new hope with the Supreme Court's approval of the Rules on Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS), which mandated all covered lawyers to render 60 hours of free legal aid every three years or contribute to a Legal Aid Fund.

Additionally, the revised Law Student Practice Rule (A.M. No. 19-03-24-SC) has empowered law students, under supervision, to assist real clients through their schools’ Clinical Legal Education Programs (CLEP).

“These reforms move the profession toward making legal services easier to access for those who need them most,” Rama said.

“The idea of institutionalizing legal aid through government support has been on my mind since my early days as a legal practitioner," he added.

Although he has yet to officially assume his seat in the City Council, Rama shared on social media that he is already contemplating to propose an ordinance to institutionalize legal aid.

The proposed initiative aims to establish a city-level legal aid program where lawyers can fulfill their ULAS requirements by providing pro-bono services as supervising lawyers for CLEP-participating law students. It would also create a City Legal Aid Office to coordinate, document, and ensure compliance with ULAS and CLEP regulations.

Rama is also looking at seeking assistance from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to facilitate the placement of volunteer lawyers, certify ULAS compliance, and match them with law school CLEP programs.

The local government unit (LGU), on the other hand, is expected to provide structural support through the City Legal Aid Office and Barangay Legal Aid Desks and support staff, while also identifying qualified beneficiaries.

Despite his enthusiasm, Rama acknowledged that several aspects such as funding, oversight, and logistics still required further study.

“But I think it’s worth considering now,” he said, adding, “Supreme Court and the Legal Education Board have taken the first big steps. I hope we stakeholders also start thinking about how these reforms can really come to life and be responsive to the needs of the people.” — (FREEMAN)