Atty. Julius Gregory Delgado
IBP-BOHOL SUCCESSFULLY HOLDS FIRST-EVER ONLINE SYNCHRONOUS MANDATORY CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (MCLE) SEMINAR
For the past two (2) weekends, lawyers from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bohol Chapter, joined by some participants from other Chapters all over the country, attended the Chapter’s first-ever online synchronous Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Seminar. Once every three (3) years, lawyers are required by the Supreme Court to attend MCLE Seminar to keep abreast with the most recent legal developments in the country, recently decided cases by the Supreme Court and new trends in the practice of law. On or before 14 April 2022, lawyers are required to comply with the so-called MCLE Seventh (7th) Compliance Period. After the said date, or starting 15 April 2022, lawyers appearing in court and submitting pleadings and documents are required to indicate their MCLE Seventh (7th) Compliance Nos., otherwise, they can be subjected to administrative liabilities.
This year’s MCLE Seminar sponsored by IBP-Bohol with IBP National as partner-provider had a theme, “We Care, We Educate, We Innovate”, and was conducted on 19-20 and 26-27 November 2021. For the first day (19 November 2021), the following were the topics and lecturers: 1) Pre-Trial by Atty. Aliakbhbar Jumrani; 2) Cybercrime Law by Insurance Deputy Commissioner Erickson Balmes; 3) Updates in Legal Ethics by Atty. Cecilio Duka; 4) Latest Jurisprudence in Labor Law by Judge Tiburcio Adrian Umbac II; and 5) Labor Arbitration by Atty. Cecilio Duka.
For the second day (20 November 2021), the following were the topics and lecturers: 1) Effective Legal Writing by Atty. Cecilio Duka; 2) Land Titles and Deeds by Atty. Aliakbhar Jumrani; 3) Recent Court Decision in Taxation by Atty. Rhenier Mora; 4) Alternative Dispute Resolution in Intellectual Property Law by Atty. Jose Maria Clint Fabiosa; and 5) Defining Relationship Between Bench & the Bar, Proper Decorum of Lawyers during Trial by Justice Gabriel Ingles.
For the third day (26 November 2021), the following were the topics and lecturers: 1) Hearings thru Videoconferencing; Challenges and Suggestions by Atty. Aliakbhar Jumrani; 2) Updates in Remedial Law by Associate Dean Christian Villasis; 3) Towards a Powerful Legal Advocacy by Judge Marivic Daray; 4) Privacy Torts by Dean Joan Largo; and 5) International Criminal Law and the International Criminal Court by Judge Marivic Daray.
For the fourth and final day (27 November 2021), the following were the topics and lecturers: 1) Challenges and Pitfalls in Legal Writing by Atty. May Aguilar; 2) Basic Etiquette in Online Hearing and Meetings by Atty. Mae Elaine Bathan; 3) The Virtual Lawyer: Maximizing the Technology in Legal Practice by Atty. Ethelbert Ouano; and 4) The Critical Role of Environmental Rule of Law in Addressing Current Environmental Challenges by Atty. Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio.
Unlike in the past, wherein speakers physically travel to Bohol to deliver their lectures, speakers nowadays are just in the comfort of their respective offices or residences,. The platform used in the first online synchronous MCLE Seminar of the Chapter was Zoom, wherein participants were given Meeting IDs and Passwords for each session. To monitor attendance and full attention, the provider, the IBP National, provided so-called monitors who will ensure that participants are visible onscreen and that they are fully attentive to the lectures. There is also a so-called Technical Moderator who does the uploading of the presentation of lecturers and collate the questions to be answered by every lecture.
With new variants of concern or interest, it is uncertain of COVID-19 will be gone by next year. The lawyers would still prefer a face-to-face MCLE Seminar to encourage more interaction and entertain remaining questions. But for now that face-to-face MCLE Seminar is not yet allowed, we shall continue with the MCLE requirements requested leading to the issuance of an MCLE Compliance VII.