Lawyer Hidelito Pascual (left) new president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City chapter congratulates his counterpart Gonzalo Malig-on Jr. who now heads the IBP province chapter after their election at the IBP building in the Capitol compound. CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
Two lawyers from Mandaue City were elected yesterday to lead the Cebu city and Cebu province chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
Both Hidelito Pascual and Gonzalo Malig-on Jr. ran unopposed for the position of president and will serve for two years. The term of the new set of IBP officers starts on April 1.
The election was held in the IBP building at the Capitol compound.
Pascual replaces Mae Elaine Bathan as president of the IBP Cebu city chapter.
Pascual, 67, said he wants to strengthen the IBP’s legal aid program, assist the court in its development programs and look into the welfare of elderly lawyers.
Pascual is a management representative in the Central Visayas tripartite wage board and had worked for 20 years as an executive in the Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. in Toledo City.
He is currently a consultant of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, who is a relative, and writes a sports column for the Cebu Daily News.
The widower expressed special concern for the plight of lawyers in their advanced years.
“They are supposed to rest already and enjoy life. But they continue to practice law so they will have money. They are not yet ready to retire. The IBP needs to consider their condition,” he told CDN yesterday.
Pascual said he also plans to strengthen the IBP’s legal aid program and help the courts in their projects.
He’s hoping that the trial courts in Cebu City will have a new, permanent home in order not to inconvenience judges, lawyers, court employees and litigants.
“I was with Justice (Gabriel) Ingles the other week, and the plan to construct the lower courts at the Court of Appeals’ lot at the South Reclamation Project was mentioned. Hopefully, within this year, the plan will be firmed up,” said Pascual who has been practicing law for 43 years.
Pascual finished his law studies at the University of the Philippines. He worked with Atlas Mining for 20 years before he decided to go into private practice in 1993.
Pascual used to teach at the University of San Carlos-College of Law before he became the consultant of Mayor Cortes. He is president of his own HR consultancy firm Organizational Performance Associates Inc.
Malig-on, IBP Cebu province’s new president, will take over from Erwin Rommel Heyrosa.
Among other concerns, Malig-on, 44, said he will address the problem of overstaying inmates in cramped jails.
“We need to intensify the program on jail decongestion because this has been one of the toughest problems we have. There are prisoners who already served their sentence yet remain behind bars,” he said.
Malig-on said the IBP also intends to mentor barangay peace committees (Lupon Tagapamayapa) to speed up dispute resolution and give fourth-year law students a chance to assist lawyers as interns in the IBP’s legal aid program.
He also wants to suggest to the Supreme Court to allow the IBP to mediate between parties in disbarment cases of lawyers before the matter is elevated to the higher courts.
Malig-on echoed calls by law schools in Cebu to decentralize the bar exams to “level the playing field in terms of costs and support of the families.”
Malig-on finished his law studies at the University of San Jose-Recoletos. He passed the bar in 1997. He worked with the late lawyer Vic Biaño before joining the office of former Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz. He currently teaches law at USJ-R.
Malig-on, who is married with two children aged 13 and 10, grew up in barangay Centro in Mandaue City, but now resides in barangay Casuntingan.
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