Tulfo seeks free legal education in exchange for two-year gov’t service

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Raffy Tulfo has filed a bill that seeks to make attending law school in state universities and colleges free, but those who graduate and eventually become lawyers must work in government for two years.

“One of the reasons for lack of access to justice in the Philippines is the shortage of practicing lawyers,” Tulfo said in his explanatory note for Senate Bill No. 1610. “This measure seeks to ensure that law students will have access to legal education in the SUCs and at the same time increase the workforce of the legal profession.”

Filipino students taking up the Juris Doctor program in state universities and colleges will be qualified for free legal education should the bill pass into law in its current form.

Law students must carry a full load of subjects every semester and must finish the entire program within the time frame prescribed by the SUC where they are enrolled in and must take the Bar Examination within a year of graduating.

Aside from tuition fees, Tulfo’s bill also seeks to waive Bar Exams and licensure fees and other school fees like books, student registration fees and library fees.

The proposed law also mandates SUCs to create a mechanism which will ensure that “students with the financial capacity to pay for their education” need not apply.

Also disqualified from enjoying the benefits of the proposal for free tuition in law schools are students who have already obtained a Bachelor of Laws or a Juris Doctor degree, those who fail to comply with admission and retention policies of SUCs and those who fail to complete the Juris Doctor degree within the prescribed period.

Those who do become lawyers after graduating from the free legal education program must work in government for two years within four years after obtaining their license either in the Public Attorney’s Office or “any government agency lacking lawyers” as determined by the Legal Education Board.

Those who fail to comply with the mandatory return service will be required to reimburse the government the full cost of scholarship, including other benefits and expenses.

“The requirement to render return service in the public sector shall pave the way for a sustainable human resource deployment in the public sector that is critical for the nation’s justice system,” Tulfo said.