The Alternative Law Groups (ALG) and the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) announced the 12 advocates recognized as the recipients of the 2024 Legal Pathfinders: Alternative Law Groups Fellowship.
The Fellowship Program is a project component of the Overcoming Access to Justice Barriers through Grassroots Communities’ Participation and Civil Society Organization (CSO) Intervention (E4J.PH Project) under the Governance in Justice Programme II (GOJUST II) and is supported by the European Union.
Drawing on the ALG network’s decades of experience working with lawyers, advocates, and communities, the Fellowship Program provides law graduates and lawyers with an opportunity to be trained as lawyer-for-communities that will walk with and assist the partner communities in addressing their access to justice concerns. The Fellowship Program is designed to equip the fellows with the knowledge, skills, and mindset needed to make a positive impact through Alternative Lawyering.
“This is an opportunity and platform for advocates who are interested to experience alternative lawyering first-hand by looking at the issues of marginalized sectors and communities and how their assistance can significantly impact communities,” said Atty. Billie Blanco, AHRC program coordinator. “We’re reimagining the many pathways lawyers can take to know the law, use the law, and shape the law to serve the people and drive social change.”
This year’s selected fellows come from all over the Philippines and a wide variety of backgrounds with some in government, firms, academe, and civil society organizations (CSOs). Included in the pioneer batch of the Legal Pathfinders fellows are Attys. Jennifer Anor, Micah Stefan Dagaerag, Nathaniel Diaz, Luntian Dumlao, Freedom Justin Hernandez, Sean Jared Lastimoso, Irene Mae Pua, Erika Jean Quinones, Paulus Antonius Ruaya, Czarina Santos, Saralyn Suaso, and Fe Esperanza Trampe.
To kickstart the Fellowship Program, the fellows participated in the first capacity-building session held last 5-7 April 2024 at the Mount Purro Nature Reserve, Barangay Calawis, Antipolo, Rizal.
The first capacity-building session featured a series of workshops, expert presentations, and a film screening. Atty. Ryan Roset of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) discussed the national human rights and access to justice situationer. The fellows also listened in the session on the Introduction to Alternative Lawyering delivered by ALG National Coordinator, Atty. Sheila Grace Formento.
The two (2)-day training program was envisioned as an opportunity for the fellows to reflect on their values and the role of oneself as part of a collective as well as to encourage solidarity with the marginalized sectors and communities through a tree-planting activity in the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape and community interaction with the Dumagats of Antipolo, Rizal.
