Bill that seeks to provide free legal education to aspiring lawyers pushed

BY MAYA M. PADILLO

Davao City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, together with Benguet lone district Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Edvic Yap, filed a bill that seeks to give lawyers free legal training in exchange for two years of government service.

They filed House Bill (HB) No. 7433 titled “An Act promoting access to quality legal education by providing for free tuition and other school fees in state universities and colleges and appropriating funds therefor”.

The authors believe that the lack of practising attorneys in the country “undermines the legal representation of every Filipino and, ultimately, the national judicial system.”

They are optimistic that the proposed bill will solve this issue.

HB No. 7433 states all SUCs with a law program accredited by the Legal Education Board (LEB) are qualified to offer free legal education, but must establish mechanisms to ensure that this does not apply to students who have the financial ability to pay for their

The authors noted that graduate education, such as medical and legal education, is not covered by the Universal Access to Quality Higher Education Act (Republic Act No. 10931), which institutes free tuition and exemptions from other school fees at SUCs and local universities and Colleges (LUC).

“Our proposal, which is consistent with programs that advocate public service to graduates, includes a mandatory two-year return service program for scholars after passing their bar exams, in a bid to encourage more lawyers to serve in Government,” said Rep. Duterte.