My Performance Report: Las Pinas City Bar Assn (2005-06)

BRIEF SUMMARY OF March 2005 – March 2006 ACTIVITIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP THE LAS PINAS CITY BAR ASSOCIATION (LPBA), INC. SUBMITTED BY ATTY. MANUEL J. LASERNA JR.

• BOARD MEETINGS. – Held once every other month. The dinner charge is P300/head to cover the cost of dinner plus a little extra to increase the general funds.

• LAW LECTURES. – Held once every other month. The latest guest speaker (Feb. 15, 2006) was SC DCA and Spokesman Ishmael Khan Jr. The dinner charge is P300/head. The LPBA gives a plaque of appreciation and a token gift to all lecturers/speakers.

• MCLE AND BENCH-BAR DIALOGUE. – The 2006 LPBA MCLE and Bench-Bar Dialogue were held on Nov. 11, 2006 from 8 AM to 6 PM, at the Nursery Farm of Sen. Manny and Rep. Cynthia Villar at BFRV, LPC in the presence of SC OCA Hon. Presbitero Velasco, CA Assoc. Justice A. Lontok, Rep. C. Villar, RTC Exec. Judge J. DJ Vibandor, the RTC Judges of LPC, the Senior City Prosecutors of LPC, the senior PNP officers and investigators of LPC, the Mediators of LPC, the officers of IBP PPLM Chapter, the LPBA officers and members, the PAO Chief of LPC, senior officers of the LPC Association of Barangay Chairmen, and other guests. Rep. Villar sponsored the lunch, Mayor Imelda Aguilar sponsored the AM and PM snacks, and the IBP PPLM Chapter (thru Pres. Amador Tolentino and Vice Pres. Manuel Laserna Jr.) donated P20,000.00 for the operating expenses. The LPBA is a SC-accredited MCLE Service Provider for the IBP PPLM Chapter district since 2001.

• CHANGE IN LPBA PRESIDENCY IN 2005. – In the 4^th Quarter of 2005, Atty. Marlin Velasco took over as LPBA Acting President in view of the disbarment of LPBA Pres. Roberto Romanillos.

• LPBA MEMBERSHIP. – The LPBA has almost 100 regular members now. The annual membership due is P500.00. (To be a separate local IBP Chapter, there should be at least 500 regular members, and the SC and IBP National Board must approve the conversion of a new local IBP Chapter).

• NEW LPBA MEETINGS VENUE. - The new venue of the LPBA meetings is the Pilar Village Homeowners Association Clubhouse, which is air-conditioned, courtesy of LPBA Pres. Marlin Velasco (the PVHAI Pres.).

• RECOGNITION NIGHT. – In October 2005 the LPBA held a Recognition Night in honor of: (a) MTC Branch 79 LPC Judge Ester Villarin, who retired in 2005; (b) RTC Muntinlupa City Judge Patria de Leon (former Solicitor), LPBA founding member and the first LPBA member appointed to the Judiciary; and (c) MTC Gen. Trial, Cavite Judge Nap Monsod (former State Pros.), LPBA founding director. Note: Two LPBA founding members are now CA Assoc. Justices, i.e., Hon. Magdangal de Leon (former ASG and former LPBA Chairman) and Hon. Arcangelita Lontok (former private practitioner and owner, Augustinian Abbey School, BFRV, LPC).

• HALL OF JUSTICE OF LPC. – The LPBA pushed and lobbied for the immediate expansion, renovation and improvement of the old LPC Hall of Justice, the transfer of the LTO from the City Hall Complex to its new site in Talon, LPC, the construction of a new/separate jail for women/children, and the transfer of the PNP HQ to the old LTO site inside the City Hall Complex. Sen. M. Villar and Rep. C. Villar committed P25M to fund the projects. The SC committed to provide new office and IT equipment, furniture and fixtures to the improved LPC courts. The LTO has moved. The improvement of the courtrooms is going on by stages. The RTC Executive Judge, Rep. C. Villar, and Mayor I. Aguilar are working very hard to insure the success of the current projects. The LPBA has informed Rep. Villar, et. al. of the desire of the LPBA to secure a free office space inside the improved LPC Hall of Justice in the near future to house the LPBA’s and the IBP PPLM Chapter’s FREE LEGAL AID PROGRAM.

• WEBSITE AND EGROUP. – The LPBA website and eGroup or Message Board is at http://groups.msn.com/laspinascitybarassociation. Visit it.

• TEMPORARY LPBA OFFICE. – The temporary LPBA office is at the Laserna Cueva-Mercader & Assoc. Law Offices, Unit 15, Star Arcade, C.V. Starr Ave., Philamlife Village, LPC. Its Tel. And Fax Nos. are 8742539 and 8725443. Its email address is: lcmlaw@gmail.com. Its Cellphone is 0920-3268824. The assigned staff are Mae Pontanilla and Primo Cueva. We thank LPBA Pres. Marlin Velasco for assigning her Mandaluyong City law firm staff in managing the activities of the LPBA and for making available the clubhouse and facilities of the Pilar Village Homeowners Assn Inc. (of which she is the Pres.) for all LPBA board and general membership meetings since she assumed the presidency in the 4^th Q of 2005.

• MODEL VOLUNTARY LOCAL BAR ASSOCIATION. – The LPBA is a model voluntary local Bar association. The Paranaque City and Muntinlupa City Bar Associations have patterned their articles of incorporation and bylaws as well as the vision and mission statements and committee structures after those of the LPBA. The LPBA is the official link and working arm of the IBP National Board and the IBP PPLM Chapter in Las Pinas City.

• FREE LEGAL AID PROGRAM. – The LPBA has assigned one or two seasoned legal aid lawyers to the 10 RTC Judges and the 3 MTC Judges in LPC to render pro bono litigation services to defend indigent accused in criminal cases where the assigned PAO lawyers suffer from conflicts of interest or have withdrawn their appearances as defense counsel due to valid reasons. The IBP PPLM Chapter plans to allot P10,000.00 per city in the PPLM Area for the free legal aid operational expenses of the local bar associations therein.

• OTHERS. –

1. The LPBA Chairman Manuel Laserna Jr. represented the LPBA and the IBP PPLM Chapter during the March 3, 2006 IBP national protest rally and march against Proc. 1017 at the Edsa Shrine.
2. The LPBA Chairman acted as a Reactor during the Kilosbayan Forum held in February 2006 at the FEU Auditorium on the subject of “Judicial Nomination Process” where the main lecturer was SC CJ Hon. Artemio Panganiban. (The LPBA Chairman and the LPBA Vice Chairman Myrna Mercader are FEU professors of law).
3. The LPBA PRO Jesus Sirios had issued a public statement condemning the 2005 murder of RTC Pasay City Judge Henrick Guingoyon. Published in the Phil Daily Inquirer.
4. The LPBA Chairman was invited to write an article on voluntary bar associations in the student newspaper of the UPHR College of Law in the 4^th Q of 2005.
5. THE LAWYERS REVIEW (Feb. 2005 issue) published the legal article of the LPBA Chairman entitled “Act of State Doctrine and the Marcoses Wealth” and the legal article of the LPBA Vice Chairman entitled “The Probative Value of DNA Evidence”.
6. The LPBA Committee on Free Legal Aid headed by LPBA Pres. Marlin Velasco and LPBA Vice Pres. Melvyn Lagasca had attended and served during the “2005 Jail Visitations” scheduled by the RTC Exec. Judge, Hon. J. DJ Vibandor.
7. The LPBA Board endorsed the judicial appointments of the following members in 2005: ACP Danilo Uy, RTC Muntinlupa City BCC Evangeline Tiongson, and ACP Cynthia Luang.
8. The LPBA Chairman has assisted the IBP PPLM Chapter and the core of the Muntinlupa City lawyers in forming the new Muntinlupa City Bar Association Inc. in March 2006.