MANDALUYONG CITY, December 5, 2019 –  The Department of Education (DepEd), through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs, conducted the First Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Seminar for DepEd Attorneys at BSA Twin Towers Hotel in Mandaluyong City on 19-22 November.

The 1^st MCLE, which was anchored on the constitutional right to basic education, discussed recent developments in law and jurisprudence and their implications to DepEd’s mandate to respect, protect, fulfil and promote the right to quality and accessible education of every Filipino child.

OIC, Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Josephine Maribojoc underscored in her message for DepEd lawyers to continuously hone themselves and cultivate their knowledge, enhance their skills, and maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct to give better service to the country, especially the learners.

“As lawyers in [the] DepEd, we have a special mission to promote the noble cause of education and nurture delicate children as our primary and ultimate clientele. Our work as DepEd lawyers must be not only legally right but also educationally correct,” Maribojoc emphasized.

The four-day seminar was facilitated by the UP Law Center Institute for the Administration of Justice along with renowned lawyers in the country such as LRA Deputy Administrator Atty. Robert Nomar Leyretana, UP College of Law Professors Atty. Jacqueline Joyce Espenilla and Atty. Dan P. Calica, former MWSS Deputy Administrator Atty. Zoilo Andin Jr., CSC Assistant Commissioner Ariel G. Ronquillo, Retired Quezon City RTC Judge Rosalina Pison, Save the Children Philippines CEO Atty. Alberto Muyot, CD Asia Vice President Atty. Maria Theresa Libunao, Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, Supreme Court Deputy Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva, State Solicitor Atty. Leney Layug-Delfin of the Office of the Solicitor General, Atty. Richard Fulleros, CPA, MBA of the Commission on Audit, Atty Kristine Jazz Tamayo of Rainbow Rights PH, and Atty. Cecil Joy Mijares of the Civil Service Commission.

A total of 136 participant-lawyers from the central, regional, and division offices attended the 4-day seminar which focused on the following topics: Land Registration, Administrative Law and Jurisprudence (Substantive and Procedural Law), Civil Service and Regulations relating to Settlement of Administrative Cases (ADR), Alternative Dispute Resolution (Administrative Remedies, Offenses and Penalties and Blacklisting), Evidence Preparation and Appreciation, Public Funds Accountability, Handling a Child Witness, Rules and Decisions of the Civil Service Commission (Legal Ethics), Children’s Rights (Substantive and Procedural Law), and Recent Supreme Court Circulars Affecting Lawyers, International Instruments and Contracts Review (International Law), Legal Research and Writing (Legal Writing/Oral Advocacy), Rewriting the Constitution and TRAIN Act (Legal Writing/Oral Advocacy), and Education Related Laws and Gender Laws.

In his message, OIC, Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Alberto Escobarte conveyed their commitment to provide continuous capacity building to all the legal personnel of the department.

“As the educational landscape of the country continues to evolve, so do the complexity of the legal needs of our clientele, and so should our services,” Escobarte said.

“The first MCLE is mandatory not only because the law requires it, but also because our vocation as DepEd lawyers impels us to continuously hone ourselves and fill our cup of legal knowledge, skills and ethics to the brim so we may have more to give to others, in the service of education, the youth, and our country,” Maribojoc concluded.

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