MANILA, Philippines — The leader of the opposition bloc in the House of Representatives has nothing but good words for government lawyers defending the poor who have been accused of crimes and remain in jail, mostly for failure to post bail.
“To my mind, the noblest expression of the legal profession can be found in the work that you do,” House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan said as he lauded the 3,371-strong Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).
“If not for the PAO lawyers, ordinary people would lack legal representation and would be lost and taken advantage of by an uncaring system,” the 4Ps party-list congressman added, commending them for “lawyering for poor and defenseless Filipinos.”
“As a lawyer like yourselves, I have the greatest respect for those who toil day in and day out in their offices and in the halls of justice, taking the cudgels for our citizens who are unable to pay for the costs of litigation and sound legal counsel,” Libanan said.
He was guest speaker of the 7th National Convention of Public Attorneys where he commended PAO lawyers for their service as “first responders” in legal emergencies involving violence against women and children, and minors found in conflict with the law.
Libanan received a standing ovation from the convention where he was presented a special award for his authorship of a 2007 law that reinforced and transformed the PAO into a truly autonomous agency.
PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta presented the award to Libanan.
When Libanan was chairperson of the House committee on justice in the 13th Congress, he authored the law that empowered the PAO to “independently discharge its mandate to render, free of charge, legal representation, assistance and counseling to indigent persons in criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases.”