Thirty-three Juris Doctor students of the University of St. La Salle (USLS) College of Law formally took their oath as law student practitioners at the Hall of Justice in Bacolod City on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
The oath-taking ceremony was administered by Regional Trial Court (RTC) No. 47 Presiding Judge and Hall of Justice – Bacolod Executive Judge Therese Blanche Bolunia, pursuant to Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court, which governs the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP).
The program authorizes qualified law students to engage in supervised legal practice upon certification by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Present during the ceremony were USLS Law Dean Rhodora Lo and Assistant Dean June Steve Barredo, and supervising lawyers Jocelle Batapa-Sigue and Keith Anthony Balbin.
Also in attendance during the pinning ceremony was former law dean Ralph Sarmiento, and now Vice Chancellor for Administration of the University.
Under the CLEP, law students are allowed to apply their legal training in actual cases under close supervision, enabling them to assist in legal aid, client counseling, and other law-related work while promoting access to justice, Batapa-Sigue said.*