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

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

 Overview of Community Extension Services and Development

(CESDEV) Program of the College of Law
CESDEV Program of the College of Law also
creates mutually beneficial relationships
between its people and the communities

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.

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

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).

 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

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

legal remedies of the case filed against the clients of the
Office of Legal Aid.

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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

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.

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)
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
representation.

to

seek

other

4. Any substantial misrepresentation to the

Office of Legal Aid before/after acceptance.
5. Media exposure of the case actively sought
by the client.

Atty. Samuel Laurente (leftmost) - a volunteer lawyer

of OLA, explains to the client the legal memorandum to
be prepared for the case.

 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 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 nonteaching 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.

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.

 Clean-up Drive for Clean and Green Communities

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.

,
<
,
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.