THE Supreme Court has approved the Manual on the Rules on Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS) that sets into motion a system requiring lawyers to render at least 60 hours of free legal aid every three years for poor Filipinos who cannot afford the services of a lawyer.
The mandatory pro bono requirement targets indigent and marginalized individuals, as well as non-profit organizations, that meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Rules and Manual.
Under ULAS, lawyers may provide court representation, legal counseling, preparation of legal documents, developmental legal support, and participation in accredited legal outreach programs.
They may also opt to give a financial contribution to the ULAS fund instead of rendering service, and may do so generally for up to 50 percent of the required hours, but must remit payment before the end of the compliance period.
The SC said individuals may qualify as beneficiaries by court appointment (counsel de officio) or by applying as indigent, subject to assessment and documentation requirements outlined in the manual.
“In the latter case, an applicant must accomplish a Qualified Beneficiary Declaration, the prescribed form of which is also annexed to the manual, attach supporting documents, if any, proving their indigent status; and undergo an interview and assessment by a lawyer, who will determine if the applicant meets the criteria under the Rules and the Manual,” the SC said.
The implementation of the Rules and Manual will be handled by the ULAS Board and the ULAS Office.
The SC said the ULAS Board to be headed by an incumbent SC Associate Justice with six other members namely the national president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the chairperson of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) governing board, the president of the Philippine Association of Law Schools (PALS), and three active private law practitioners representing Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
It said that the Court en banc has appointed the ULAS Interim Board headed by SC Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, with members Antonio Pido, IBP national president, Dean Sedfrey Candelaria, MCLE governing board chairperson, Dean Teodoro Pastrana, PALS president; and private law practitioners Karl Arian Castillo, Patricia-Ann Prodigalidad, and Tranquil Gervacio Salvador III.
“The ULAS Interim Board shall serve until December 31, 2025,” the SC said.
“While the ULAS Portal and ULAS Office are still being set up, lawyers may already begin providing pro bono services to qualified beneficiaries and retain documentation of such services, to be submitted once the portal and the office become operational and before the end of the three-year period cycle,” it added.
Records showed that the manual was developed by the ULAS Interim Board and Technical Working Group and was approved by the Court en banc on April 8, 2025.
