(IBP-Pampanga takes center stage after winning the Most Outstanding Chapter in the 17th IBP National Convention in Iloilo City.
(Atty. Gener C. Endona holds the plaque for Most Outstanding Chapter along with his plaque for Most Outstanding Legal Aid Lawyer.)
(Atty. Tanya Lingat is first runner-up in the Miss IBP 2019 pageant, she also bagged the Miss Photogenic award and Best in Interview.)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Pampanga is named as the “Most Outstanding IBP Chapter in the Philippines.”
As if to underscore its success, IBP-Pampanga chapter president Atty. Gener C. Endona is awarded the Best Legal Aid Lawyer in the Philippines.
And to add glamour to the wins, Atty. Tanya Lingat emerged as the first runner-up in the Miss IBP 2019 pageant, Miss Photogenic and Best in Interview.
The victories were garnered in the recently concluded 17th IBP National Convention in Iloilo City.
“Awards are not the ultimate goal of any public servant, but more importantly the service to the community,” Endona said here on Monday last week.
“I’m so happy for the recognitions, three consecutive terms in a row, a record-breaking feat that puts us in the records,” he said.
Endona said what made IBP Pampanga win are their most significant projects like the Aeta mass wedding dubbed: “Kasalang Balen,” where the union of Aeta couples living together as husbands and wives, sans marriage, were legalized.
But it did not stop there, IBP-Pampanga also helped them obtain legal documents required for getting proper education for their children, suitable employment for themselves as well as other civil and social benefits.
“We also gave free legal advices to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE,” he said. “We went to the embassy and talked to those who were detained there for nine days as part of our legal aid project,” he stated.
Endona said IBP-Pampanga also conducted jail visitations, legal aid lectures particularly on cyber bullying, cyber- crime, and gender sensitivity. “We also give lectures to the police on human rights, and the manner of arresting and charging suspects,” he added.
There are also lectures given to children in conflict with the law and their rights, he said.
“As for me, I was nominated because I handled a lot of pro bono cases and IBP took notice of my lecture series,” he pointed out.
But Endona believed that it was their consistency in giving services to the community every month, sometimes even five times in a month, that gave them the edge.
The four-day IBP event themed: “Upholding the rule of law in period of great change,” was held at the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) in Mandurriao district.
Around 3,000 lawyers from across the country attended the convention which is now on its 17th year.
