Once in a while it is also useful to write about the men and women who practice law aside from the law itself as contained in the cases decided by the Supreme Court. Indeed, law practitioners play a vital role in establishing jurisprudence or “giving wise interpretations to laws and justly applying them to all cases as they may arise” in the administration of justice which is the main function of our courts, particularly the Supreme Court. Hence law practitioners are also considered officers of the court called upon to ensure that truth and justice prevail.
As officers of the court contributing to jurisprudence, law practitioners must therefore perform their functions with integrity and in the most competent, responsible and effective manner. Hence some legal luminaries of the bygone era led by the eminent Jose W. Diokno thought of integrating the lawyers into a well knit organization under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court. Thus was born the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) committed to the three-fold mission of (1) elevating the standards of the legal profession, (2) promoting the administration of justice and the rule of law, and (3) enabling lawyers to discharge their public responsibility more effectively.
In order to function smoothly and efficiently as a nationwide organization, the IBP is divided into 85 Chapters established in nine geographical regions specifically Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Greater Manila Area, Southern Luzon, Bicolandia, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Eastern Mindanao and Western Mindanao. Each chapter is headed by a Chapter President and each region is headed by a Governor.
Membership in IBP is a must for all lawyers in the Philippines. Hence as of today, there are already over 50,000 lawyers who are members of the IBP spread over the 85 chapters located in the nine geographical regions.
But like any organization, the IBP also encounters some rough sailing in its years of existence. Even if it is a well structured organization, disagreements still arise especially because its members are, by nature and/or training, tend to espouse different causes and to engage in heated arguments leading to some kind of division and strife which in the long run, however, turn out to be healthy and fruitful to the organization, making it stronger and more united.
One of these rough sailings happened only about two years ago when the term of the old board expired and no incoming board immediately took over because of, as usual, election controversies. To avoid the vacuum the SC had to step in and appointed a caretaker. A year later, the conflict was finally resolved by the SC when it sustained the election of the three governors who were not able to take their oath and then called for a secret balloting to elect the Executive Vice President (EVP) who will assume the Presidency. All the governors sustained the mandate given to Atty. Roan I. Libarios as the EVP in the previous controversial election. This unanimous mandate was considered by Atty. Libarios as “a vote for healing and unity in the IBP... a life changing tonic for unity and growth”.
And true enough, in this year’s national convention held in Subic, the IBP had the biggest turnout of participants. No election protest was filed and no controversy happened except that in Western Visayas no election was held because of some organizational issues now pending before the SC.
So last Tuesday, July 19, 2011 the new IBP Board of Governors who will serve for two years took their oath of office before the SC Justices at the SC Session Hall. They are: Atty. Roan I. Libarios, National President and Chairman; Atty. Denis Habawel, Governor for Northern Luzon; Atty. Olivia V. Jacoba, Governor for Central Luzon: Atty. Dominic C.M. Solis, Governor for Greater Manila Area; Atty. Vicente M. Joyas, Governor for Southern Luzon; Retired Judge Leonor L.Gerona-Romeo, Governor for Bicolandia; Atty. Manuel L. Enage Jr., Governor for Eastern Visayas; Atty. Israelito P. Torreon, Governor for Eastern Mindanao and Atty. Florendo B. Opay, Governor for Western Mindanao.
Even as the IBP has come out stronger and more united from the recent leadership crisis, Atty. Libarios, in his inaugural address, nevertheless pointed out that it is still saddled with problems, which he called the “lingering and daunting crisis of relevance” because many members and stakeholders, associate IBP “merely to IBP dues, MCLE Compliance Certificate and nothing more, except probably when they face charges before the Commission on Bar Discipline”.
Thus in consultation with the new Board and Officers, he drew up a five point reform agenda to “revitalize and reengineer the IBP by instituting structural and policy changes to make it more attuned to its mandate of service to the legal profession and the justice system”.
First is the creation of an IBP National Legal Resource Center housing and managing a state of the art “IBP Casebook”, an online interactive platform to serve as information hub for lawyers, featuring a super e-library and online publishing of legal materials, information updates, lawyers’ e-profile, private messaging, on line payment of IBP dues and subscriptions and on-line tracking of MCLE credits. The Center will also strengthen IBP’s capability to come up with sound positions on relevant legal and social issues and engage in meaningful advocacy and policy debates.
Second is the establishment of a National Policy Board of Accreditation with a two-fold task: to identify the specialty areas in the practice of law and accredit lawyers in that specialty area; and to accord honorific status to active legal practitioners who have earned reputation for competence and integrity.
Third is the transformation of the Commission on Bar Discipline (CBD) by enlarging its powers as to include integrity building and anti-corruption programs among lawyers including basic courses to retrain attorneys from becoming chronic violators of ethical rules. The CBD will thus become the “Commission on Integrity and Bar Discipline (CIBD)”.
Fourth is the establishment of peer assistance program under the Office of the IBP General Counsel to support members in career orientation and development, continuing job and career opportunities, welfare and insurance benefits, stress and health management and rehabilitation and direct legal assistance if they become victims of violent crimes.
Fifth is the elevation of the national legal aid office into a national support center for the 85 legal aid chapters to make them more capable in providing legal aid and in monitoring cases. The IBP will also launch a comprehensive OFW Legal Assistance Program to include, counseling, representation and setting up of help hotlines for OFWs and their families, legal diplomacy and advocacy and promoting awareness of the legal rights of Filipino migrant workers.
And so as it approaches its 40th year, IBP’s future looks promising indeed because it has a road map to provide direction to the members towards worthwhile goals.
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E-mail at: json@pldtdsl.net