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House panels OK substitute bill providing free legal aid for cops, soldiers


Three House committees on Wednesday approved the measure which seeks to provide free legal assistance for policemen and soldiers.

The panels which approved the substitute bill, with amendments, were the House committees on justice, national defense and security and public order and safety.

At his last State of the Nation Address on July 26, President Rodrigo Duterte called for a law providing free legal assistance to soldiers and policemen to help them deal with charges related to the performance of their official duty.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has said there was already an existing government mechanism that extends legal assistance to policemen and other uniformed personnel who get sued in the course of performing their official duties.

House Minority Leader Stephen Paduano had said a lengthy debate on this proposal should be expected, noting that free legal assistance should only be accorded to good cops.

He warned that it could pose a danger of promoting impunity among bad cops. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News

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