News & Impact

𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 —  The 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗸 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰–𝗜𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗶𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰 (𝗦𝗟𝗖-𝗘𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗖) launched the first module of its intensive workshop, 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦: 𝘈𝘯 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴, on August 15, 2026, at Room ICT-3B, CCS Building, Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology.

The first session, titled "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘋𝘓𝘴?: 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦", was led by 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵 𝗠. 𝗘𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘀, a former member of the Clinic. It provided student volunteers with practical insights into post-arrest procedures, custodial investigation protocols, and the legal safeguards available to Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs). 

The training emphasized the constitutional right of persons under investigation to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel.  It explored the statutory duties of arresting, detaining, and investigating officers under Republic Act No. 7438, including the duty to inform arrested and detained persons of their rights in a language known to and understood by them and to ensure their access to competent and independent counsel. Beyond these, the discussion detailed the procedures governing inquest proceedings, the legal limits of detention under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, and other post-conviction remedies under the Probation Law and the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law, among others.

Translating theory into practice, the student volunteers participated in immersive simulations and drafting exercises under the guidance of Atty. Edris and the Clinic Director, 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝘆. 𝗝𝗼𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗠. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗴-𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗿. The exercises included an inquest proceeding scenario and then a simulated jail visitation, allowing the participants to apply their knowledge to practical concerns involving arrested and detained persons.

Through the simulations, the student volunteers learned to assess the circumstances of a case, identify the rights and immediate needs of PDLs, and recommend appropriate legal remedies under the supervision of authorized supervising lawyers. The training also strengthened the participants’ readiness to assist in the Clinic’s legal aid and human rights initiatives, while reinforcing that legal assistance must be competent, ethical, compassionate, and tailored to each client’s circumstances.

This activity commenced the Clinic's 𝘈𝘔𝘜𝘔𝘈 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵: 𝘗𝘢𝘨-𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘰𝘥, 𝘶𝘨 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘺𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘯, and forms part of the project’s efforts to strengthen human rights initiatives and improve legal response mechanisms across Northern Mindanao. The project is funded by the DUYOG Human Rights Hub Region 10, with the support from 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.