Setting the pace for Women Lawyers in the Philippines”

In November 1946, following the aftermath of World War II, a group of eightyone female graduates of the University of the Philippines College of Law, led by the esteemed Corazon Juliano Agrava, met to form what they had initially envisioned to be a sorority, the “The U.P. Women Lawyers Circle” or U.P. WILOCI. Little did they know, their simple dreams of sisterhood would develop into a reality where U.P. WILOCI is at the helm of the legal profession and serves as a source of inspiration for all female lawyers in the country.

Upon their incorporation as a nonstock, non-profit organization in June 1947, the members of the U.P. WILOCI collectively undertook “to defend the rights of individuals, contribute to the alleviation of economic, educational, and political status of the Filipino, and strive for greater social order through the proper administration of justice.” This common mandate gave rise to the U.P. WILOCI’s commitment to nation service.

In pursuit of their common goal of serving the Filipino people, members of the U.P. WILOCI have distinguished themselves in all three (3) branches of government – the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. Not only have U.P. WILOCI members served as cabinet secretaries, bureau heads and chairpersons of regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Insurance Commission, the Philippine Monetary Board, the National Police Commission, PAG-IBIG and the Commission on Elections, U.P. WILOCI members, Atty. Grace Pulido Tan and former Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, currently hold the highest positions in two (2) Constitutional offices – the Commission on Audit and the Ombudsman, respectively.

While some opted to join the Philippine foreign service and be part of its diplomatic corps (serving as ambassadors, consuls and vice consuls, among them ), a substantial number have opted to remain local and to serve as part of the local government organizations. Countless WILOCI’s have been elected as governors, vice-governors, board members, mayors, vice-mayors and councilors.

U.P. WILOCI members have likewise made a mark in the legislative arena. Starting with the election of the late Senator Tecla San Andres Ziga, the first woman bar topnotcher, in the 60’s, the last fifty (50) years have witnessed WILOCI’s being bestowed with legislative mandates from various parts of the nation and successfully gaining the trust of the country’s electorate. Former Regional Trial Court Judge Miriam Defensor Santiago and Atty. Pia Cayetano are incumbent Senators of the Philippines’ 16th Congress while Attys. Bellaflor Angara Castillo, Emmeline Y. Aglipay and Josephine R. Sato were elected to the House of Representatives.

It is in the judicial department that the U.P. WILOCI has attained unparalleled heights. Not only have WILOCI’s served as trial judges as well as justices of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals and the Sandiganbayan, the U.P. WILOCI boasts the distinction of having within its fold the first woman justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Justice Cecilia Muñoz Palma, the first Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy, Justice Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, and the first lady Chief Justice, Justice Ma. Lourdes A. Sereno.

While not all have heeded the call of public service, the U.P. WILOCI, as an assembly of dedicated women lawyers, has designed its own ways of contributing to the improvement of the nation, particularly in the fields of empowerment and protection of women and children.

U.P. WILOCI’s staunch advocacy for women’s and children’s rights traces its roots to the unfulfilled creation of then President Manuel A. Roxas’ Court of Domestic Relations. With the government unable to finance the organization of such a specialized tribunal, the U.P. WILOCI filled the gap with its Domestic Relations Consultation Center, which provided consultation services for domestic legal problems until 1958. The DRCC, which was later renamed the WILOCI Legal Consultation Center, expanded its scope and transformed its function from consultation to actual litigation services – the prosecution or defense of actions on behalf of destitute litigants including particularly women and children.

After more than fifty (50) years, the U.P. WILOCI’s commitment to providing free legal aid to the needy, especially to women and children, has not wavered. In an attempt to widen the reach of its legal aid program, the U.P. WILOCI forged partnerships with various local and international agencies including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), CARITAS Manila, Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). Under the agreement with the IBP, the Women’s Desk at the National Committee on Legal Aid of the IBP National Office was formalized. UP WILOCI’s Legal Aid Program, the bedrock of its advocacies, evolved into a three-pronged approach for the provision of legal assistance, namely: (a) legal counseling; (b) court representation; and (c) legal literacy, which continues to the present. With these three (3) pillars, the U.P. WILOCI’s volunteer lawyers have extended legal consultation for walk-in clients and clients referred by the DSWD and the IBP; handled the actual trial of cases involving, among others, abuse and violation of children’s and women’s rights; and have conducted literacy programs on various topics including the legal rights of women, domestic relations such as child support, legal separation and domestic violence as well as on the handling of child cases.

Recently, the book written by U.P. WILOCI’s Atty. Catherine T. Manahan entitled “Know Your Benefits” was launched. The launching of this book, a layman’s guide on the statutory benefits of special sectors of Philippine society such as women and children, persons with disabilities (PWD’s), senior citizens and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s), is part of the legal literacy program of the U.P. WILOCI and yet another first in WILOCI’s history.

Over the years, the U.P. WILOCI has engaged in a wide array of activities. Not only has it organized and sponsored “pre” and “post” bar examinations review, provided a venue for public discussions on salient topics of the day, and participated as resource persons for various fora and conventions, the U.P. WILOCI, through its former President Dr. Purificacion Quisumbing, who was also holding the position of UNICEF Senior Regional Adviser for Social Mobiization and External Relations, even conducted a consultative seminar-workshop on “The Child in the Justice System” as an expression of support of, and active compliance with, the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Lastly, the U.P. WILOCI, upon request of the Supreme Court, submitted its input, as amicus curiae, on issues relating to the practice of law and advertising in the legal profession.

In celebration of its 67th anniversary, the U.P. WILOCI intends to reach another milestone. Recognizing the stellar achievements of its members in the recent years, the U.P. WILOCI has organized its first ever National Convention entitled “Women in Law: Leaders of the New Millennium” for the benefit of the Wiloci’s Legal Aid Program. To be held on October 17 and 18, 2013 at the Manila Hotel, this two-day leadership conference will bring together legal luminaries from the public and private sectors, whose careers have served as inspirations for WILOCI’s across the country and across generations. Indeed, with this first ever National Convention, the U.P. WILOCI will showcase what female lawyers, especially female graduates of U.P. College of Law, may accomplish, while having the sisterly fun and laughter that characterizes all U.P. WILOCI events.

Initially brought together by the happenstance of their common gender and alma mater, the members of the U.P. WILOCI ultimately find themselves bound and driven by their common passions and advocacies for female empowerment and advancement in the legal profession as well as the protection of children and women’s rights in the country. With the energy, exuberance, dedication and generosity of its members and under dynamic leadership, the U.P. WILOCI has successfully hurdled the challenges faced by female lawyers in the country and, after almost seventy years, set the quintessence for women lawyers to emulate. U.P. WILOCI has, indeed, set the pace for women lawyers in the country.