We don't know if the deferment of the Mandatory Legal Aid Service (MLAS) will eventually lead to its outright scrapping but as of yesterday, the High Tribunal announced that it will be deferred until December 31, 2009 instead of July 1 this year.

According to the SC website, MLAS will take effect on January 1, 2010 provided its implementing regulations have been published prior to the said date. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Board of Governors is also directed by the Supreme Court to finalize and submit the draft implementing regulations for the final approval of this Court as soon as possible.

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Not a few quarters in the legal circle are of the opinion that the rendition of free legal aid service should be voluntary and that the requirement will spawn litigations and clog court dockets and other related concerns.

In fact, IBP National President Feliciano M. Bautista, informed the Supreme Court that the draft implementing regulations of the MLAS have been prepared but some IBP chapters have requested deferment of its implementation to afford the said chapters more time to consult their members and allow wider discussion on a number of important issues pertinent to the mandatory legal aid service.

The implementing regulations are supposed to provide guidelines for the proper and orderly enforcement of the new rule, as well as to address the operational and other administrative concerns raised by lawyers and lawyers' organizations regarding the Rule.

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The MLAS requires every practicing lawyer to render a minimum of 60 hours of free legal aid services to indigent litigants yearly, among others. The High Tribunal justified that MLAS is aimed at enhancing "the duty of lawyers to society as agents of social change and to the courts as officers thereof by helping improve access to justice by the less privileged members of society and expedite the resolution of cases involving them."

However, legal practitioners believed otherwise as it would be tantamount to involuntary servitude which is prohibited by the Constitution. But the problem is it is the Supreme Court itself which will eventually rule on its constitutionality if the validity of MLAS would be challenged.

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As of today, pleadings filed in court already bear a kilometric description of the counsel filing it.

Aside from the roll number, the professional tax receipt number and the IBP membership number, all pleadings submitted to the Court must bear the number and the date of the Certificate of Compliance for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) which requires every practicing lawyer to complete 36 units every three years.

No doubt that the legal profession consumes a most of the bulk of the paper supply in the country today.

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