IBP appeals to public: ‘Act responsibly, pray and care for each other’

MANILA, Philippines – The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the country’s mandatory organization of lawyers, has called on the public to “act responsibly, pray and care for each other especially for those who have less in life.”

“IBP employees and all Filipino lawyers are enjoined to observe best practices and cooperate with authorities and their communities to avoid COVID-19,” Atty. Domingo Egon Cayosa, IBP National President and Chairman of the Board of Governors said.

The IBP has set up measures to maintain coordination with lawyers nationwide as the government upgraded the COVID-19 alert from Code Red Sublevel 1 to Code Red Sublevel 2 and imposed a land, sea, and air domestic travel restrictions to and from Metro Manila.

Cayosa, said they have canceled the March 13 and 14 Board of Governors meeting as well as the meeting of the Commission on Bar Discipling (CBD).

“All other meetings are to be done by Skype or other electronic/cyberspace means,” Cayosa said in a statement.

The IBP has moved the March 28-29 Workshop on Legal Aid for Indigenous Peoples in Bukidnon “to better days.”

The IBP national office is also being sanitized. But Cayosa assured that its national office remains functional with minimal personnel on a rotation basis to attend to urgent and important matters. They also have work from home arrangements with its employees and officers.

“IBP chapters are advised to take similar measures as their local circumstances may require,” Cayosa said.

He added that the IBP is ready to extend assistance to any employee, member or immediate member of their family who may be afflicted with COVID-19.