Senate Free Legal Education bill seeks increase in practicing lawyers

In a bid to increase the number of practicing lawyers in the country, Senator Raffy Tulfo filed a bill seeking to provide tuition fees to qualified law students in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Senate Bill 1610 or the proposed Free Legal Education Act of 2023 "seeks to ensure that law students will have access to legal education in the SUCs and at the same time increase the workforce of the legal profession."

Under the bill, scholars are required to render return service in the public sector.

Tulfo said this will "pave the way for a sustainable human resource deployment in the public sector" which is critical for the nation's justice system.

In his filing, the lawmaker said that law students are ineligible to avail of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017 under Republic Act 10931, which provides free tertiary education to bona fide students in SUCs regardless of their program or course, because they are already holders of a bachelor degree.

Tulfo said that the cost of studying law in private institutions was around P75,000 to P98,000 per semester, while SUC students have to pay around P24,000 to P30,000, excluding living expenses and other necessities.

"One of the reasons for the lack of access to justice in the Philippines is the shortage of practicing lawyers," Tulfo said.

At present, the lawmaker said there are only around 40,000 lawyers comprising the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and "even fewer" are practicing lawyers.

This translates to one lawyer serving roughly 2,500 people which is very far from the ideal ratio of one lawyer for every 250 persons.

Under SB No. 1610, the Free Legal Education Program shall cover the tuition fees at the rate approved by the SUC governing board, as well as government-mandated bar examination and licensure fees and other school fees including but not limited to library fees and fees for prescribed books.

Law students who will avail of the proposed scholarship must comply with the following requirements:

• Must be a Filipino citizen residing in the Philippines
• Must be a student taking up Juris Doctor degree in an SUC
• Must sign an agreement stating the terms and conditions of the scholarship on a form that shall be prescribed by the Legal Education Board
• Must carry a full load of subjects prescribed per semester by the SUC and shall not, under any circumstance, drop a course that will result in underloading
• Must finish the entire Juris Doctor degree within the prescribed timeframe of the SUC, subject to retention policies of the SUC. A scholar who is enrolled may be allowed, for valid and justifiable reasons, to file a leave of absence.
• Must take the bar examination within a maximum period of one year after completion of Juris Doctor degree
• Must render return service for two years in the Public Attorney's Office or any government agency lacking lawyers as may be determined by the LEB, within four years upon passing the bar examinations and conferment of the license to practice the legal profession.

Any scholar who fails or refuses to comply with the mandatory return service shall be required to reimburse the government the full cost of the scholarship, including other benefits and expenses received under this proposed law.

The following students are ineligible to avail of the benefits proposed under SB 1610:

• Students who have already attained a Bachelor of Laws or a Juris Doctor degree from any legal education or institution
• Students who fail to comply with the admission and retention policies of SUCs
• Students who fail to complete their Juris Doctor degree within the period prescribed in the program

— DVM, GMA Integrated News