By Atty. Julius Gregory B. Delgado

FROM MLAS TO CLAS TO ULAS: WILL A MANDATORY LEGAL AID SERVICE BE FINALLY IMPLEMENTED?

On February 10, 2009, the Supreme Court promulgated Bar Matter (B.M.) No. 2012, or the Rule on Mandatory Legal Aid Service for Practicing Lawyers (MLAS) but its implementation was deferred. In 2017, the Supreme Court adopted Administrative Matter (A.M.) No. 17-03-09-SC, or the Rule on Community Legal Aid Service (CLAS), but its implementation was likewise suspended after it was enforced for some time to Bar Examinations Passers in 2018 and 2019.

Pursuant to its rule-making power under par. 5, Section 5 of Article VIII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Supreme Court is in the process of consulting the members of the Philippine Bar of its proposal for the so-called Unified Legal Aid Service or ULAS. Under the proposed ULAS (Draft-5.0-Rules-on-ULAS.pdf (judiciary.gov.ph), Covered Lawyers are required to render sixty (60) hours of pro bono legal aid service for every compliance period of thirty-six (36) months. 

Under the proposed ULAS, pro bono legal aid service is defined as performance of acts that involve the application of law, legal procedure, or legal knowledge, training and experience, which legal services are provided free of charge, and rendered to Qualified Beneficiaries. These legal services include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) Representation in the courts in civil and criminal cases and quasi-judicial bodies in administrative cases, including proceedings for mediation, voluntary or compulsory arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution (The representation extends to the drafting and filing of all pleadings and written submissions in said cases); (ii) Legal counseling, rendering assistance in contract negotiations and drafting of legal documents, including memoranda of law, affidavits, and contracts (Drafting may include policy work involving legal research and advocacy); (iii) Developmental legal assistance consisting of rights awareness, capacitybuilding, and training in basic human rights, documentation, and affidavit-making;  (iv) Participation in Accredited Legal Outreach Programs and Missions, including the mentorship of students under Rule 138-A of the Law Student Practice Rule; and (v) Such other legal services as may be defined by the Supreme Court.

The following lawyers are excluded from the coverage of ULAS and must obtain Certificate of Exclusion from the ULAS Board before the end of the compliance period which they are excluded: (a) Lawyers in government service and incumbent elective officials who are absolutely prohibited from practicing law outside their public employment, namely: (i) Justices, judges, and other officials or employees of the Judiciary; (ii) Officials and employees of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG); (iii) Government prosecutors; (iv) The President, the Vice-President, the members of the cabinet, their deputies and assistants; (v) Chairpersons and Members of the Constitutional Commissions; (vi) Ombudsman, Overall Deputy Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman, and Special Prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman; (vii) Governors and Mayors; and (viii) Such other government employees who are absolutely prohibited by special law or rules from engaging in private practice; (b) Lawyers employed in the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO); (c) Lawyers whose request for authority to render Pro Bono Legal Aid Services from their government agency under Section 12 of these Rules is denied by the duly-authorized officer of the agency; (d) Lawyers who have been in the practice of law for at least thirty-five (35) years, or who are at least sixty (60) years of age, reckoned from the last year of the relevant Compliance Period; (e) Lawyers who suffer from physical disabilities or attributes, mental, or other circumstances not attributable to their negligence or bad faith, which render compliance with these Rules unreasonably difficult or impossible; and (e) New lawyers who are admitted to the Bar after the effectivity of these Rules, for the Compliance Period at the time of their admission.

There is also an option for a Covered Lawyer or Registered Organization to give financial contribution to the ULAS Fund in lieu of rendering the mandatory pro bono legal aid service but may cover only a maximum of fifty percent (50%) of the minimum hours or aggregated minimum hours required. However, a Covered Lawyer or Registered Organization who has complied 40% of the applicable minimum hours before the end of the first year of the Compliance Period may opt to give financial contribution corresponding to the remaining sixty percent (60%) of the minimum hours in lieu of rendering the required pro bono legal aid service.

In addition to the Professional Tax Receipt (PTR), IBP Official Receipt or Lifetime Number, MCLE Compliance Certificate Number and Roll Number, all Covered Lawyers required by law or rules to indicate the foregoing details, must likewise indicate the ULAS Compliance Number, and the date and place of its issuance, in all their pleadings, motions and other papers to be filed and/or submitted before any court or quasi-judicial body. Lawyers who are excluded under Section 5 of these Rules must declare such fact of exclusion, and the date and place of the issuance of Certificate of Exclusion. All pleadings, motions and other papers filed in courts and quasi-judicial bodies, whether personally or by mail, which do not bear the aforementioned ULAS details shall not be acted upon by such courts and quasi-judicial bodies.

Additionally, those non-compliant covered lawyers will be considered delinquent member and may not be issued a Certificate of Good Standing. Notably, a non-compliant lawyer may be facing administrative sanctions as he or she may be subjected to an investigation by the Commission on Bar Discipline.

Finally, the proposed Rule on ULAS allows carry-over of excess hours in a compliance period to the next upon approval by the ULAS Board. 

Members of the Philippine Bar are urged to attend the series of consultations conducted by the Suprem Court to be heard on this proposed ULAS Rule.