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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE, ERIC G. YAP, 
and EDVIC G. YAP 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution asserts the fundamental right to speedy, impartial, and public 
trial; however, the country not only lacks public defenders but also lawyers which 
undermines the legal representation of every Filipino, and overall, the national justice 
system.  
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) states that there are forty thousand (40,000) 
living lawyers in the country. In addition, according to the Foundation for Economic 
Freedom, there is roughly one (1) lawyer for every two-thousand and five-hundred 
(2,500) Filipinos—relatively low compared to the United States which has one (1) 
lawyer for every two-hundred and forty (240) Americans.  
Despite the enactment of Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality 
Tertiary Education Act which institutionalizes free tuition and exemption from other 
fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges in the 
country, graduate school, such as legal and medical education, is not included in the 
said coverage. As a result, Republic Act No. 11509, or the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act, 
which offers medical scholarship and return service program was enacted. 
Meanwhile, there is still no law that mandates legal scholarship and return service 
program by the state.  
March 6, 2023
2:01 pm
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Consistent with the programs that advocates public service to graduates, this bill seeks 
to establish a legal education scholarship to qualified students in the SUCs with the 
requisite of mandatory service program after passing the Bar examinations, thereby 
encouraging more law students and eventually lawyers in public service. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
       ERIC G. YAP 
EDVIC G. YAP         


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE, ERIC G. YAP, 
and EDVIC G. YAP 
AN ACT 
PROMOTING ACCESS TO QUALITY LEGAL EDUCATION BY PROVIDING 
FOR FREE TUITION AND OTHER SCHOOL FEES IN STATE UNIVERSITIES 
AND COLLEGES AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Free Legal Education 
Act of 2023". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to provide 
appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within 
the Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing abroad; offer economic assistance to the 
underprivileged and marginalized sectors; deliver free legal services to indigent 
litigants, and address the lack of and unavailability of legal practitioners in the 
different government agencies in the country. 
Likewise, the State hereby recognizes the invaluable role of lawyers and the 
legal education out of which they are molded, in the attainment of societal progress. 
Towards this end, the State shall encourage the youth to pursue a career in legal 
education and thereafter, provide them with opportunities for employment in the 
legal field through which they could better serve their countrymen. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - The following terms shall be defined 
conceptually as they are used throughout the statute: 
a. Legal Education refers the totality of various academic programs in higher
education designed for the training of prospective lawyers, allied
professionals and legal scholars. It shall encompass the basic and graduate
law programs, and other legal studies programs;
b. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) refers to an educational institution,
private or public, undertaking operations of higher education program/s
with an organized group of students pursuing defined studies in higher
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education, receiving instructions from teachers, usually located in a 
building or group of buildings in a particular site specifically intended for 
educational purposes. The following are the classifications of Higher 
Education Institutions: 
 
a. Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) are institutions incorporated 
as stock or non-stock corporations and supervised and regulated by the 
Commission on Higher Education, except for the law program; 
 
b. State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) are those created by special laws or 
charters, governed by their respective board of regents or board of trustees, 
chaired by the CHED Chairperson according to RA 8292; and 
 
c. Legal Education Institutions (LEIs) refers to all higher education institutions 
accredited by the Legal Education Board to offer basic and/or graduate law 
programs, allied legal studies programs and/or other legal studies 
programs and recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), 
when applicable. 
 
SEC. 4. Establishment of Free Legal Education Program in SUCs. - There shall 
be established a Free Legal Education Program for deserving students in SUCs. All 
qualified Filipino students who are either currently enrolled in the Juris Doctor 
Program offered in SUCs at the time of the effectivity of this Act, or shall enroll at any 
time thereafter, after passing the entrance examination and other admission and 
retention requirements of the said SUCs, shall be exempt from paying tuition and 
other school fees for units enrolled in. 
 
All SUCs with a Law Program duly accredited by the Legal Education Board 
shall be qualified to implement this Act insofar as beneficial to their bona fide law 
students. 
 
The SUCs shall create a mechanism, which will ensure that the beneficial 
provisions of this Act, relative to tuition and other school fees subsidy, need not apply 
to students with the financial capacity to pay for their education. 
 
SEC. 5. Qualifications and Requirements. - In order to be qualified for the Free 
Legal Education Program, a law student must comply with the following 
requirements: 
 
a. Must be a Filipino Citizen residing in the Philippines; 
b. Must be a student taking up Juris Doctor degree in an SUC; 
c. Must sign an agreement stating the terms and conditions of the scholarship 
on a form that shall be prescribed by the LEB; 
d. Must carry full load of subjects prescribed per semester by the SUC, and 
shall not, under any circumstance, drop a course which will result in 
underloading; 
e. Must finish the entire Juris Doctor degree within the prescribed time frame 
of the SUC where the scholar is enrolled in, subject to the retention policies 


 
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of the SUC; Provided, That a scholar who is already enrolled, may be allowed, 
for valid and justifiable reasons, to file a leave of absence; 
f. Must take the bar examination within a maximum period of one (1) year 
after completion of the Juris Doctor degree; 
g. Must render return service as provided under Section 14 of this Act. 
 
SEC. 6. Coverage. - The Free Legal Education Program shall cover the 
following: 
 
a. Tuition fees at the rate approved by the SUC governing board as of date of 
passage of this Act; 
b. Government-mandated bar examination and licensure fees; and 
c. Other school fees including but not limited to: 
 
1. Fees for prescribed books, on a reimbursement basis, as determined by 
the LEB, upon consultation with its stakeholders; 
2. Student registration fees; and 
3. Library fees. 
 
SEC. 7. Ineligibility. - The following students are ineligible to avail of the Free 
Legal Education: 
 
a. Students who have already attained a Bachelor of Laws or a Juris Doctor 
degree from any legal education or institution. 
b. Students who fail to comply with the admission and retention policies of 
SUCs. 
c. Students who fail to complete their Juris Doctor degree within the period 
prescribed in the program. 
 
Students who are ineligible to avail of the Free Legal Education Program shall 
be charged the tuition and other school fees as determined by the governing Board of 
the SUCs. 
 
SEC. 8. Harmonization with the Clinical Legal Education Program. – Pursuant 
to Section 5(5), Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution, the Supreme Court is empowered 
to adopt and promulgate rules through the amendment of the provisions of Rule 138-
A or the Revised Law Student Practice Rule of the Rules of Court. 
 
The Legal Education Board shall adopt the policy on the Revised Law Student 
Practice Rule, ensure that law students participate in the clinical legal education 
programs in all legal education institutions, define the scope of service to be rendered 
by law students in the said program, contribute to access to justice of the marginalized 
sectors, enhance learning opportunities of law students, instill among them social 
responsibility and awareness, and prepare them for the practice of law. 
 
SEC. 9. Harmonization with the UniFAST Act. - Pursuant to Republic Act No. 
10687, the Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) is 
the existing system to unify and harmonize all publicly-funded national government 


 
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programs for Student Financial Assistance Programs, including but not limited to 
scholarships, grants-in-aid, and student loans for tertiary education. 
 
As the repository of all government-funded modalities of Student Financial 
Assistance Programs for tertiary education in both public and private institutions, the 
UniFAST is mandated by law to implement the disbursement of student financial 
grants including the Free Legal Education Program, the latter in coordination with the 
LEB, which shall provide UniFAST with validating data or information on the 
currently enrolled registered law students per semester. 
 
SEC. 10. Prohibited Acts. - Upon effectivity of this Act, it shall be unlawful for 
any SUC, or any person or entity representing an SUC, to collect tuition and other 
school fees from qualified law students during the registration or enrollment period. 
Provided, that this provision shall not apply to law students who voluntarily opt out 
of the subsidy or are otherwise ineligible to avail of the provisions of this Act. 
 
SEC. 11. Penalties. - A commission of any prohibited act defined under the 
next preceding section shall subject the SUC to an administrative case under the 
jurisdiction of the LEB, and shall result in the imposition of the appropriate 
administrative sanction, including but not limited to: (a) downgrading of the 
government recognition; (b) phase-out of the law program; and (c) termination of the 
law program. 
 
This is without prejudice to the civil or criminal liability of the party 
responsible therefor. 
 
SEC. 12. Reporting Requirements. - All SUCs shall submit to the UniFAST and 
the LEB, within five (5) days after the last day of registration for each semester, a report 
detailing the names of law students eligible for free tuition and other school fees of 
the institution, under this Act. 
 
SUCs shall submit a report to the LEB and UniFAST before the start of an 
academic year on the projected number of enrollees for each academic year set by the 
respective governing boards of SUCs. Before the start of each academic year, the SUCs 
shall submit a report to the LEB and UniFAST on their projected number of enrollees 
as determined by their respective governing boards for the purpose of implementing 
the disbursement of student financial grants. 
 
SEC. 13. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the 
implementation of this Act shall be included in the current year's appropriation of the 
UniFAST. 
 
Thereafter, the amount necessary for the continuous implementation of the 
Free Legal Education Program provided under this Act shall be included in the 
UniFAST appropriations in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
SEC. 14. Mandatory Return Service. - Within four (4) years upon passing the 
bar examinations and conferment of the license to practice the legal profession, a 


 
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scholar shall render mandatory return service for two (2) years in the Public Attorney's 
Office or any government agency lacking lawyers as may be determined by the LEB; 
Provided, That the lawyer shall receive appropriate salaries and other benefits for 
service rendered under the mandatory return service. 
 
Any scholar who fails or refuses to comply with the mandatory return service 
the service obligation imposed under this Act shall be required to reimburse the 
Government the full cost of scholarship, including other benefits and expenses 
received under this Act. 
 
SEC. 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within one hundred twenty 
(120) days from the effectivity of this Act, the LEB as lead, in coordination with the 
CHED, UniFAST, DBM, Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges 
(PASUC), Association of Local Colleges and University (ALCU), Philippine 
Association of Law Schools (PALS), Association of Law Students (ALSP), shall 
formulate and issue the rules and regulations to fully implement the provisions of this 
Act. 
 
SEC. 16. Separability Clause. - Should any part or provision of this Act be 
determined to be unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions not affected 
thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
 
SEC. 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders. rules and 
regulations and other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 18. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,