The EU-Philippines Justice Support Program (EPJUST II) “to promote equitable access to justice and its efficient enforcement for all poor and disadvantage citizens,” turned over Thursday in this city and the province of Palawan the “Access to Justice Network” (AJN) initiative in close partnership with the provincial government and Muslim-Filipino groups.

AJN was launched through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Aug. 8, 2015, as an enterprise to provide Muslim-Filipinos the ability to take up legal issues through access to referral pathways, harmonize justice delivery instruments to guarantee fair dispensing in communities, chiefly to impoverished residents. Lawyer Jose Ma. Mendoza, senior access to justice expert of the EPJUST-II, said Thursday that Palawan is the first-pilot area in the Philippines for AJN, which will be established initially in 10 barangays, such as Puerto Princesa, Taytay, and Bataraza among others.

The primary beneficiaries of the AJN are the poor or vulnerable – walk-in clients with legal concerns, and women and children, vulnerable groups like farmers and indigenous peoples, elderly, Muslim-Filipinos, and people with disability.

The preparation and training of around 50 facilitators for the purpose is on-going and will conclude within the week, he said, to start the ball rolling on the initiative to gain access to justice for marginalized residents. “In behalf of the EPJUST Programme, we are thankful to everyone, to our partners because this moment is important since the preparation and training of what we call our AJN facilitators is about to conclude so they can be based in the barangays to be able to deliver the basic right of access to justice of every Filipino,” Mendoza said.

In his presentation, Mendoza said that in 2008, the Social Weather Station (SWS) carried out a survey that came out with the significant result that claimed 48 per cent of respondents said “justice is practically inaccessible for Filipinos. Twenty six per cent believed it is only a bit accessible; 13 per cent said it is fairly accessible; and 13 per cent said it’s accessible. “I would think that if there will be an update this 2015, the data will not be that far from the response of 2008,” he said. “The survey also showed “marginalized individuals, especially the poor and vulnerable members of the society, including those in remote communities, are unaware of their basic human rights and legal rights, and the legal services that are available.” The finding is significant, he added, because the right to access to justice is in the Constitution of the Philippines, but the marginalized are not aware of them, and it recognizes the fact that there are services in the government that can be availed but not all are acquainted with them.

The AJN, according to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report is “the ability to seek and obtain remedy through formal and informal institutions of justice in conformity with human rights standards.” “Let us not forget we have informal methods that are available to obtain justice, like the council of elders or lupon in the barangay, and other approaches to achieve justice that do need to present us to longer court hearings,” Mendoza said.

AJN will work to provide a referral system to concerned agencies; assist in tracking and monitoring cases to prevent them from stagnating due to lack of follow up; provide basic legal assistance or facilitation through affidavit-making or case analysis. Legal education every once in a while; provide legal information and eventually, centers, where people can access legal services; link with significant security and justice system; and provide facilitators, who are also from the barangays; and cases management.

Mendoza said most cases that do not see solutions in Palawan per their simple surveys are about land, domestic issues, personal loans or business-related, and issues on drugs. AJN Palawan is the first pilot site in the country, and Mendoza thinks Palaweños should be proud that their province is the chief province to accept the challenge; that it is unique as implementation is province-wide; and an exceptional province since it paved way for focus on Muslim-Filipino communities.

The 10 barangays that were chosen as pilot areas for AJN were because they have significant number of Muslim residents. Mendoza said eventually, more access centers can be set up to cover all more than 400 barangays in the province. Despite this, he said it is important for all Palaweños to know that access to justice will be provided to them no matter who they are. We need to point out that according to the facilitators, and although many of them are Muslims, they also want to serve other people in the barangays, who are non-Muslims,” he added.

The Access to Justice Network (AJN) is an initiative of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme II (EP JUST II), the Province of Palawan and the United Muslim Communities in Palawan for Peace and Progress (UMCPP).

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August 12, 2015 -- A tripartite Memorandum of Agreement to implement the Access to Justice Network (AJN) project was entered into by the Provincial Government of Palawan, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) and the United Muslim Communities in Palawan for Peace and Progress (UMCPPP) recently in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

An initiative of the NCMF, with support from the European Union’s EU- Philippines Justice Support Programme II (EPJUST II) and in partnership with the United Muslim Communities in Palawan for Peace and Progress (UMCPPP), the AJN aims to give Muslim Filipinos better access to the Philippine legal system through paralegal training and the establishment of a center at the barangay level that will facilitate access to legal and justice services. It also aims to empower their communities with seminars to improve understanding of their legal duties and rights.

Atty. Joey Mendoza, Key Expert of EPJUST II, welcomes the signing of the MOA. “This addresses a longstanding gap in the delivery of a basic right. Genuine access to justice can hopefully now be a reality for more of our poor and vulnerable Filipinos.”

The Provincial Government of Palawan, led by Governor Jose C. Alvarez, will facilitate the establishment of AJN centers in the ten pilot barangays within the province and the designation of AJN staff in each of the barangays.

NCMF together with the Provincial Government will lead in convening the technical working group and providing policy guidance and oversight in the development of AJN centers.

“Studies have shown that where there are community paralegals, citizens are more aware of their legal rights and better able to enforce them," says Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao, Chairperson of the NCMF. “It is crucial to educate and train active community members. They can serve as legal frontrunners who can immediately respond to and assist victims of human rights abuses and prevent further similar incidents.”

Provincial Legal Counsel, Atty. TJ Matta, representing Governor Jose Alvarez, expressed excitement that Palawan would be the first to implement the legal access initiative saying, “This is a great start in making legal services accessible to both our Muslim and non-Muslim communities.”

General Estino Jairi Y. Ayyobie of the UPMCPPP committed to support the activities of AJN by endorsing the project to its members and assisting in the implementation of the program in the pilot barangays.

The European Union assured its commitment to Community and Service-Oriented Policing (CSOP) in Puerto Princesa with the visit of EU Ambassador Franz Jessen accompanied by  Chargé d'Affaires, a.i.  of Romanian Embassy, Mr Mihai Sion, to Puerto Princesa City on December 4.

CSOP is a flagship project of NAPOLCOM, supported by the EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme (EPJUST II).

The implementation of CSOP came about after a series of meetings with the city government and the PNP to implement Community Policing within three pilot barangays in Puerto Princesa:  San Pedro, Tiniguiban and Santa Lourdes. 

A Memorandum of Agreement was entered into by the City Government of Puerto Princesa, the National Police Commission and the Puerto Princesa City Police Office in June 15, 2015.  The Agreement adopts the CSPO system as a framework for coordination and collaboration in  helping bring about peace and order and public safety, as well as other activities that would contribute to improved access to justice.  A technical working group, composed of representatives from different government institutions  (PDEA, DSWD, DEPED, DILG, etc.) and the private sector,  is guiding the implementation of CSOP.

The officials  met with Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron, NAPOLCOM Commissioner Constancia P. De Guzman, City PNP Deputy Director for Operations Psupt. Silverio Bacsa, San Pedro Barangay Captain Francisco, City DepEd Education Supervisor Dr. Dennis M. Lucas, and Judge Leopoldo Mario P. Legazpi, as well as the EPJUST II team, to discuss the benefits of CSOP to communities, especially when dealing with drug use and its consequences.

After the meeting, the participants proceeded to Barangay San Pedro where they met with barangay officials and community representatives to discuss the issues facing the people of the barangay and how CSOP can assist the community in resolving those issues.

Ambassador Jessen commended the collaboration between government stakeholders with the local communities in bringing about peace and order in Puerto Princesa. 

Tribesmen’s access to justice better under revised rules

by Jonathan Mayuga, Business Mirror

published February 24, 2015

TRIBESMEN will have better access to justice under the revised rules of procedure of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

NCIP Chairman Leonor T. Quintayo made this statement during the launch of the 2014 Revised Rules of Procedure of the NCIP at the Department of the Interior and Local Government building in Quezon City on Monday.

Quintayo said the new rules of procedure clarify vague provisions under the old rules of procedure that was crafted in 2003.

She said that, after a decade since the 2003 rules took effect, many problems emerged, prompting the NCIP to conduct a thorough assessment, with the end view of coming up with a  revision that would enhance tribal members’ access to justice.

“With the revised rules, issue on jurisdiction [of cases] becomes clear. Also, the revised rules give more importance to the beliefs, customs and traditions of the indigenous peoples,” she said.

The NCIP is the primary government agency that formulates and implements policies, plans and programs for the recognition and protection of the rights and welfare of indigenous cultural communities and individuals.

The crafting of the revised rules of procedure is supported by European Union (EU), through the EU-Philippine Justice Program.

Some of the emerging issues, which the revised rules of procedure aim to address, involve delay in the resolution of pending cases at the regional level. The revised rules, she added, promotes alternative dispute resolution of cases at the regional level.

Quintayo said some 70 percent of cases filed before the NCIP are related to land dispute, which includes encroachment of ancestral domain claims or rights of various tribal groups across the country.

In the NCIP’s commission en banc alone, she said, around 400 cases are pending resolution, and most of them involve land dispute.

The NCIP is responsible for the issuance of certificate of ancestral land or domain titles. It is also the primary government agency responsible for the issuance of certificate as a precondition for the use of lands covered by a certificate of ancestral domain title or territories being claimed by tribal groups.

There are over 14 million people belonging to different tribes in the Philippines.

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines - The European Union (EU) on Friday renewed its commitment to support a project of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) aimed at transforming cops into community leaders that strengthen the local government's capability.

EU Ambassador Franz Jessen met with Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Bayron, NAPOLCOM Commissioner Constancia de Guzman and other local officials in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan to discuss the progress of NAPOLCOM's Community and Service-Oriented Policing (CSOP) project, supported by the EU-Philippines Justice Support Program (EPJUST II).

"CSOP is the backbone of crime prevention and solution, and the maintenance of peace and order in the country," de Guzman said.

Under CSOP, cops work with barangay leaders and local executives in the municipality to address community problems that are not just exclusive to crime.

De Guzman said that under CSOP, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is empowered to fulfill its role as community leaders in different local government units. It could be as simple as relaying information on the garbage situation in a barangay, or reporting burst water pipes in a community, de Guzman said.

"CSOP does not remove from the police their law-enforcement functions," she said. 

The EPJUST II-supported community policing project is currently being piloted in Barangays San Pedro, Tiniguiban and Santa Lourdes in Puerto Princesa City, where problems include drugs, property theft and juvenile delinquency.

"It's a pilot program. If it works well, you will be known in the other parts of the Philippines because it will be replicated," Jessen told policemen in a visit to the Puerto Princesa City Police Office.

CSOP, launched in June 15, 2015, is supported by the EU's EPJUST II, which aims to promote equitable access to justice for the poor and the disadvantaged.

EPJUST II builds on two earlier EU projects which have so far provided 1.3 million euros worth of IT equipment, computers and servers to local governments which helped in gathering data about a specific barangay. The project also coordinates with the NAPOLCOM and the PNP in ensuring effective implementation of the CSOP.

Bayron said the support from EU is a "look from the outside" and is beneficial in teaching the local government unit how to address crimes.

"If (the pilot testing) is perfected, it wouldn't be that hard to replicate this in other barangays," the mayor said.

Visit this Philippine Star link to see the complete article.