Summit pushes justice for all

A NATIONAL summit that would make justice accessible to all was held in Negros Occidental in November.

The 2022 National Legal Aid Summit dubbed “Reimagining the Art of Legal Empowerment: National Summit on Access to Justice through Cultivating Approaches on Legal Aid” was aimed at developing a roadmap that will “amplify, provide and sustain avenues of access toward the constitutional guarantee of adequate legal assistance.”

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said that the legal profession is essentially a “public service.”

“It carries with it a public dimension. As it is involved in the administration of justice, it exists for the society and the public in general. Indeed, the legal profession is a public service. It is a service to others in need of justice. It is a service to others in search of truth,” Gesmundo said.

He also emphasized that lawyering does not give one an entitlement as “it thrives on truth and not on lies.”

“On the contrary, it looks after the disadvantaged and the marginalized, in order to give them a voice, to give them the chance to be equal with others, if not in life, at least in law,” he said.

Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen stressed that legal professionals should have the interest of the poor in mind.

“[The] legal profession should be encouraged to be sensitive to and evolve more public interest cases in the proper way. This requires the skills to communicate with and empower those who are marginalized,” Leonen said.

The event was held from Nov. 27 to 30, 2022, at the L’ Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City.

The conference, convened by the Supreme Court, was attended by members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Public Attorney’s Office,

Free Legal Assistance Group, Philippine Association of Law Schools and Alternative Law Groups.