ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT Prof. Daniel T. Atayde, CESDEV Coordinator for College of Law

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANILA

COLLEGE OF LAW COMMUNITY EXTENSION SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT (CESDEV) PROGRAM: FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION SERVICES, CHILDRENS LITERACY PROGRAM, AND CLEAN-UP DRIVE

Overview of Community Extension Services and Development (CESDEV) Program of the College of Law

In support of the Universitys mission of making the lives of others

better, brighter, lighter, and more livable through quality and affordable

education, the College of Law is committed not only to uphold the culture of

academic excellence in legal education and research but also to train future

leaders who would be at the forefront of nation-building. This objective is

consistent with the vision of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and

Cultural Organization or UNESCO (2009) of making higher education in the

hilippines the prime mover of the nations socio-economic growth and

sustainable development through its tri-fold function of teaching, research

and extension services.

Toward this end, the College of Law has initiated Community

Extension Services and Development (CESDEV) Programs that aim to

provide equal and speedy justice under the law for indigent litigants, help

capacitate and empower marginalized communities in the Philippine society

through projects created to improve their well-being.

The CESDEV Program of the College of Law strives to build a

community of catalysts for social transformation and development by being

the heart that accumulates resources from its law students, academic

personnel, and student support staff and plough back said resources to the

communities that needed the most. Thus, CESDEV Program of the College of

Law also creates mutually beneficial relationships between its people and the

communities all inspired by the Universitys noble ideals of patria (love of

country), scientia (love of science) et virtus (love of virtue).

Ref: http://www.dev.ascp.org/Image-Library/Global-Outreach...

CESDEV Program of the College of Law also

creates mutually beneficial relationships

between its people and the communities

Objectives of the College of Law CESDEV Program

All activities in the College of Law CESDEV Program

are geared towards not only to comply with directives expected of

an institution of learning, but in creating socially relevant

communities as well. The objectives of the CL CESDEV Program

are as follows:

Empower both the people in the adopted communities

and the College of Law students, faculty, and support staff

through service-learning initiatives that allow critical reflection

and productive engagement;

Provide opportunities for collaborations that could

elevate the level of awareness for the College of Law community

members and partners to the dynamics of participatory

development; and

Utilize research as a vehicle to deepen the College of

Law communitys understanding of socio-economic issues.

Catalyst for social transformation and development.

Professor Daniel T. Atayde: Coordinator for CL

CESDEV Program, hosts the annual Childrens

Literacy Program of the College of Law in partnership

with the Library Department on May 10, 2013.

The College of Law CESDEV Programs for its Adopted Communities

The College of Law Community Extension Services and

Development (CL CESDEV) Program helps all of its neighbouring

barangays. However, it has adopted three communities through

Memorandum of Agreement (MOAs) as locations for the implementation of extension services. The MOAs were signed by top

university administrators and local officials of the areas to protect the

parties involved and determine their scope of engagement. The adopted

communities were determined by the Universitys Institutional CESDEV

Program. The adopted communities as of June 2013 are as follows:

Barangay 400 (M.V. De Los Santos Street, Sampaloc, Manila),

Barangay Pinagkaisahan (Cubao, Quezon City.), and Barangay

Calaoaan (Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur).

As a subunit of the Institutional CESDEV Program of the

University, the CL CESDEV Program has a community outreach

coordinator who communicates with the Institutional CESDEV director.

Currently, the Institutional CESDEV Program is headed by Professor

Eric Estaol and directly reports to the University President.

To fulfil the objectives of CL CESDEV Program, the College of

Law has created and/or support the following programs: free legal

consultation services through the Office of Legal Aid, childrens literacy program, and clean-up drive.

Dean Salvador A. Poquiz (seated), discusses the penalties and

legal remedies of the case filed against the clients of the

Office of Legal Aid.

Dr. Sunday Galias (rightmost), doctor of medicine and a

student of the College of Law, actively participates in the

annual health check-up program of the Institutional

CESDEV Program for the adopted communities.

The Office of Legal Aid (OLA) was established principally to

spearhead the College of Laws campaign in defending the rights of

the underprivileged and the oppressed in obtaining equal and speedy

justice under the law. Furthermore, it was created for the purpose of

instilling upon law students the concepts of public service and social

involvement in the legal profession even as they acquire practical

training in law practice under the guidance and supervision of the

law faculty.

Currently, OLA provides free legal services to walk-in

indigent clients, UM employees and students, and members of its

adopted communities. The free legal consultation services include

consultations, interviewing, investigating, drafting of documents,

researching on law and procedure, handling cases in court,

preparing appeals and review petitions, and seeking legal and other

appropriate non-judicial legal remedies. The free legal service

DOES NOT include the shouldering of docket fees, court costs,

transportation and out-of-pocket expenses.

The Office of Legal Aid is located at Room 27-A, second

floor of the Main Building. It is open every Saturday at 1pm-2pm or

by appointment to be scheduled by the Office of the Dean for College

of Law.

Free Legal Consultation Services through the Office of Legal Aid (OLA)

The modern and spacious Office of Legal Aid (OLA) is located at

Room 27-A, second floor of the Main Building.

Atty. Elena Melita L.

Chica-Lledo: Head of

the Office of Legal Aid

(OLA), explains to Mr.

Ed Aldana: OLA

client, the procedures

in filing cases before

the National Labor

Relations Commission

(NLRC).

The main objectives of Free Legal Consultation Services include:

1. Expanding access to the legal system and providing quality legal representation to low-income individuals through individual

representation as well as legal advice;

2. Educating members of the public regarding their legal rights and responsibilities and continuing to develop public awareness of the

program; and

3. Maintaining a well-functioning organization with the capacity to respond to the legal needs of low-income and disadvantaged individuals.

Criteria for Accepting Cases in OLA

Any, all, or combinations of the following factors determine

whether or not OLA will accept applications:

1. The indigency requirement of the applicant

2. The pedagogical value of the matter/s raised by the facts of

the case, and

3. The level of public interest presented by the issue involved.

Moreover, due to the limited resources and time constraints,

OLA may not accept cases from outside the City of Manila, Quezon City,

and its adopted communities. Lastly, OLA does not accept cases filed

against the University of Manila and its officers, members, and

employees for propriety reasons.

Free Legal Consultation Services through the Office of Legal Aid (OLA)

Champions of speedy and equal justice. The

esteemed members of the College of Law

Faculty converge to signify their commitment to

render pro-bono legal services to the UM

community and its partner communities.

Grounds for Terminating OLAs Services

Any of the following is a ground for

termination:

1. Failure to attend in two consecutive

hearings of the case.

2. Failure to notify the intern in charge of

plans to travel outside the country or outside

Metro Manila.

3. Wilful attempt to seek other

representation.

4. Any substantial misrepresentation to the

Office of Legal Aid before/after acceptance.

5. Media exposure of the case actively sought

by the client.

Free Legal Consultation Services through the Office of Legal Aid (OLA)

Atty. Samuel Laurente (leftmost) - a volunteer lawyer

of OLA, explains to the client the legal memorandum to

be prepared for the case.

The Childrens Literacy Program promotes and encourages

children in the adopted communities to become lifelong readers.

Statistics show that parents with children below three years of age do

not read to their children at all and some do so only once or twice a

week. Reading difficulties and illiteracy contribute to school failure,

increasing absenteeism, school drop-outs, juvenile delinquency,

increased crime, teen pregnancy, drug use and other problems that

impact our community. Studies also reveal that the easiest way to

increase literacy among pre-school and school age children is to

simply read to them.

The College of Law in partnership with the University

Library Department hosts an annual Literacy Program where

volunteers from the University read to children stories that teach

good values for them to be productive and caring citizens of the

country. Volunteer readers range from students, professors and non-

teaching staff. Every child who participates receives special prizes.

The program also uses technology and films to encourage

children practice the habit of reading in a fun, friendly, and

educational environment.

Childrens Literacy Program

A life without cause is a life without effect.

Volunteers from the University happily share their

time with the children from adopted communities.

The future leaders of the nation. Children ages 6

to 10 with their parents listen to the story read by

Profs. Imee Resurreccion and Daniel Atayde.

The College of Law strongly supports

the Universitys advocacy for clean and

green communities. The College actively

conducts annual clean-up drive within the

adopted communities to encourage people to

take environmentally responsible behaviour

and achieve visible environmental benefits.

The clean-up drive focuses on litter reduction, recycling and minimizing waste,

and beautification efforts in the adopted

communities. Currently, the clean-up

activities include picking and sweeping up of

litters, waste segregation, and educational

presentations on the importance of community

involvement in preserving and sustaining the

environment.

Clean-up Drive for Clean and Green Communities

UM Law Cares!

Ms. Marisol Barbacena

(rightmost), 4th year law

student, sweeps up dried

leaves and plastic

containers during the

annual clean-up drive of

the College of Law.

,