(10 December 2021, Singapore) – The Philippine Embassy in Singapore, in collaboration with lawyers from the International Pro Bono Alliance (iPBA), held a webinar and virtual legal aid clinic on 05 December 2021 (Sunday). The online legal clinic is one of the activities organized by the Embassy to commemorate the annual 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women.

The legal aid clinic is a regular program of the Embassy, which is aimed at providing free legal assistance to our kababayans in Singapore. This activity was put on hold in 2020 because of border restrictions and the ever-present threat of SARS-CoV-2 which limited the ability of volunteer lawyers from the Philippines to travel to Singapore to conduct the activity

In his welcome remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Singapore, H.E. Joseph del Mar Yap, conveyed  that the Embassy decided to continue the program this year, albeit using online platforms, to help kababayans who are burdened with legal problems but have difficulty accessing the Philippine legal system because of the pandemic. To this end, the Embassy partnered with iPBA for the delivery of lectures and provision of legal advice to our kababayans using Zoom and Facebook Live.

The webinar included four (4) topics meant to cover the common legal concerns of OFWs. The first topic was on Philippine marriage laws which was discussed by Atty. June Ambrosio Macaspac. It was followed by a lecture on property concerns, which was delivered by Atty. Arni Topico. Atty. Robert Cruz then provided his expertise on the topics of scams and cyberlibel. The final topic of the webinar is cross border claims, which was expounded by the founder of Justice Without Borders, Atty. Doug MacLean.

The activity was capped by one-on-one legal consultations wherein lawyers of iPBA met virtually with kababayans with specific legal concerns, through Zoom’s breakout session feature.

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