Pro Bono Practices and Opportunities in the Philippines

Published on 15 May 2019 This is an overview of pro bono practices and opportunities in the Philippines, including key practice rules, culture, obstacles to undertaking pro bono and sources of pro bono opportunities.

It is ingrained in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that “free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.” As such, Republic Act No. 9406 or the Act Reorganizing and Strengthening the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) provides that the PAO shall “render, free of charge, legal representation, assistance, and counselling to indigent persons in criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases.”

However, due to widespread poverty and frequent human rights violations, the Philippines present numerous opportunities for private lawyers to engage in pro bono work. The national bar association (Integrated Bar of the Philippines), non-governmental organizations, and university clinics are some of the of the active providers of such services.

While foreign lawyers remain unable to practice law in the Philippines, recent legislation requires all newly admitted lawyers in the Philippines to commit a certain number of hours to provision of pro bono services to those in need.