Filipino workers who cannot afford a lawyer when filing labor complaints may soon have access to free legal representation through a proposed Labor Attorney’s Office, should Congress approve Secretary Francis Tolentino’s request for 64 government-funded lawyers deployed across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Tolentino explained the details in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on September 10, saying he raised the proposal during a congressional budget hearing and received an encouraging response from the lower house.
The President’s Labor chief said the gap in legal representation for workers is a serious problem in the current system, where many workers who file labor complaints end up settling for far less than they deserve or losing their cases entirely simply because they cannot afford counsel.
“Maraming mga kaso na hindi assisted by counsel, nagkoko-compromise na lang ang iba, walang dokumento at matatalo talaga ‘yun,” Tolentino said.
Tolentino said the proposed Labor Attorney’s Office is patterned after the Public Attorney’s Office, which provides free legal assistance to indigent litigants in criminal and civil cases, but would be specifically focused on labor cases.
“Kung mayroon tayong Public Attorney’s Office na tumutulong sa mahihirap, gusto ko rin po magkaroon ng Labor Attorney’s Office,” he said.
Tolentiono said the initial proposal calls for 64 lawyers, distributed across the country’s three main island groups, to provide free representation to workers appearing before the NLRC and other labor tribunals.
The Labor chief said the lower house of Congress has signaled support, with both the committee and the House Speaker having received a formal letter from DOLE on the proposal. He also expressed confidence that the Senate would also support it once the measure reaches that chamber.
