MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law a bill that seeks to provide free legal assistance for military and uniformed personnel (MUP).

In a statement on Saturday, April 26, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it welcomed the signing of Republic Act No. 12177.

The new law will cover officers and personnel under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, among others. The DILG oversees all the mentioned agencies but the AFP.

“With the enactment of this law, the DILG is confident that police, fire, and jail personnel will be able to perform their duties with greater focus and confidence, free from the fear of harassment through baseless or unwarranted cases,” the interior department said.

According to the DILG, the law will establish a mechanism for MUPs to access free legal assistance “ensuring that institutional support is readily available whenever they face service-related cases.” The new law will cover proceedings of MUPs who face criminal, civil, or administrative cases in relation to their performance of official duties.

The complaints or cases covered could be at the prosecutor’s level, courts, quasi-judicial or administrative bodies, or other tribunals.

Even retired and “honorably discharged and separated” personnel could avail themselves of the assistance if the allegations in question were committed while they were on active duty.

In 2021, human rights lawyer and former Supreme Court spokesperson Ted Te said that a law cannot be passed to require lawyers to render free legal assistance to law enforcers, adding that there’s already the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), which provides free legal services to Filipinos.

This, apart from legal organizations that handle public interest cases such as the Free Legal Assistance Group and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers.

In 2021, representatives from PAO, the Office of the Solicitor General, and Integrated Bar of the Philippines also suggested to improve the legal offices of MUP agencies instead. – Rappler.com