Senator wants free tuition for law students

MANILA, Philippines — With the ratio of one lawyer to 2,500 people, Sen. Raffy Tulfo is pushing for a measure that will provide free tuition to individuals who will pursue legal education.

Tulfo filed Senate Bill 1610, or an act promoting access to quality legal education, by providing for free tuition and other school fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

“At present, there are only around 40,000 attorneys comprising the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – even fewer are practicing lawyers. That translates to one lawyer serving roughly 2,500 people, very far from the ideal ratio of one lawyer for every 250 persons,” Tulfo said.

“One of the reasons for the lack of access to justice in the Philippines is the shortage of practicing lawyers,” he added.

The senator noted that the measure seeks to ensure that law students will have access to legal education in SUCs, and at the same time increase the workforce of the legal profession.

“Law students, however, are ineligible to avail the free tertiary education under this law, as they are already bachelor’s degree holders,” he said.

In top private legal educational institutions, legal education costs around P75,000-P98,000 per semester, while tuition in state universities ranges from P24,000 to P30,000, excluding living expenses and other necessities, according to Tulfo.

In addition, he said the requirement to render return service in the public sector shall pave the way for a sustainable human resource deployment in the public sector that is critical for the nation’s justice system.

The 1987 Constitution declares that the state shall protect and promote the rights of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.

For this purpose, Congress enacted Republic Act No. 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017, which provides free tertiary education to bona fide students in SUCs, regardless of the program or course they are enrolled in.