Renzo Part:

Opening
A Christian existentialist by the name of Martin Boober once said that every day is
a grace-filled encounter with the Lord. The presence of everyone in this room is a
manifestation of graces and you, our distinguished panelist, made this event grace-
filled.
Good morning, we are the Junior Bedan Law Circle of the Department of Legal
Management and this year our thrust is Layuning Makabayan.
We are inspired by the words of our former President Fidel V. Ramos when he said
that “The true challenge for each of us as Filipinos is to go about our daily tasks by
being at our best in whatever we think, we say and we do, and by living with others
in peace, harmony and empathy whenever fortune may take us.”
L.M. = Layuning Makabayan
In cooperation with San Beda University and the Office of the Prefect of Student
Activities we would like to present our activities for the Academic Year 2019-
2020.

Closing
LM 2020 – Layuning Makabayan
Again, we are the Junior Bedan Law Circle the home of 267 strong and brave
students of the Department of Legal Management, and we are ready to partake in
nation building.
At this juncture, panelist may I direct your attention to the screen as we play our
audio visual presentation.
AVP
Thank you. We are now ready to entertain your queries.

Tej Part:
Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution states that sovereignty resides in the people
and all government authority emanates from them.
On September 12, recognizing that the right of suffrage is the cornerstone of our
democratic state, we conducted a Satellite Registration of voters for the residents
of Manila City from District 1 to 6. The main objective of this event is the
encouragement of voters to register; thereby jumpstarting their right of suffrage.
We partnered with Atty. Gregorio Bonifacio, the head of the COMELEC in Manila
City for the conduct of this project. We were one of only two universities who
were granted this satellite project.
We also invited schools near San Beda University, organizations, and departments
to take part in the event.
It resulted to 142 registered voters from districts 1 to 6.
Oplan Elexsyon is not only a manifestation of our freedom of choice but also
represents that we live in a democratic and republican state.
On November 16, Oplan Eleksyon was followed by a new project, named Project
Citizenship, which aims to address Social Issues in Social Media. Together with
this is the launching of the thrust of the Legal Management Department which is
“Layuning Makabansa”. In the same launching, Green Project, that tackles the
environmental aspect of nation building was also continued for its second
consecutive year.
One of the issues addressed was Sea Games, an issue talked about numerous times
in Social Media. The project’s launching was witnessed by students of different
courses.
The access to right and truthful information is vital not only for the benefit of
Bedan Students, but also for those who have access to social media.

Monica Part:
A model does not only focus on himself and his countrymen, a model citizen also
cares for the land he walks on. As inhabitants of the nation there should be a
healthy environment convenient for the people in which they exercise their rights.
This year we recalibrated the green project by partnering with additional
organizations such as the society of operation management students (SOMS) and
the Management and Entrepreneurship Society. We are also looking forward to
collaborate with office of innovation and research.
With the results of our waste audit, we have quantified that food scraps contribute
the most to the wastes inside our university, papers and plastics coming in second
and third respectively. With this data, we are now starting to implement its long
term goal of providing a comprehensive research on the environmental status of
San Beda University. This research paper will be used to formulate better
environmental policies like waste management and segregation.
As Bedans we should practice environmental consciousness because we are not
just bystanders, we are world changers and this is us, doing our part.

Balinas Part:
At this point, allow me to re-introduce our project (Lingkod Laya) through the
story of Lorna Pregoria--- a detainee of Manila City Jail. Because of the many
times we’ve talked, I have started calling her Lola Lorna. She is already 61 and is
suffering from a heart disease. Despite her age, she is exposed to dismal jail
conditions. Lola Lorna had already served the sentence for the crime that she
allegedly committed. However, one cannot just go out of jail, after serving one’s
sentence. There is still a rather complicated process for actual release. Lola Lorna
remains incarcerated because of the simple reason that no one follows-up her
release order. I can still vividly remember the first time I talked to her; she was in
tears asking us desperately for help since she did not want to spend another
Christmas in Jail. Lola Lorna is just one of the faces of our inadequate judicial
system, and the problems it create. Lola Lorna is the problem that our project aims
to address. 2nd Slide: Manila City Jail’s population in 2018 hit a staggering 6,400.
It has a congestion rate of 601%. What does this mean? Well, it means that a a cell
designed only for 50 persons, with zero to no proper ventilation will fit more than
200 inmates in one time. It means that water supply good for 50 inmates would
have to be shared with a hundred and fifty more. It means that jail resources would
have to be stretched beyond limits. It means an easy transfer of communicable lung
diseases. Through this project, I have personally seen many times, that our jail
facilities look like a can of sardines: dark, packed, dirty with a stinky odor. And the
problem is that, there are only 2 paralegal to process the release order of 6,400
detainees. And this is a ratio of 1paralegal :3200 detainees. Sadly, this has been
Lola Lorna’s world for 2 years now. It is against this harsh backdrop that our
project Lingkod Laya was born. The first two years of Lingkod Laya saw many
milestones that we are proud of: We made case follow-ups for more than 200
detainees; We were able to extend medical assistance to more than 100 sick
detainees, with free medicines; We have empowered hundreds of detainees in our
Paralegal Talks; We have given sanitary kits to almost a thousand detainees; But
the fact that we are most proud of: In the two years, We have successfully released
84 detainees: 28 from last year and 56 this year. We would like to believe that the
84 freed detainees, are not just numbers. These are 84 real people. These are 84
humans with different stories of struggles and survival. These are 84 former
inmates who have hopes and dreams. These are 84 former detainees who were
given another shot at life. We have 30 volunteers and 56 this year. Funding was a
challenge, but when your intention is pure, I think, a Higher Being sees your effort
and helps you along the way. It is only 37 days before Christmas and I am thinking
about Lola Lorna. we will make extra efforts, within my capacity, for Lola Lorna’s
release. Because, we hope that like you and me, she is going to spend her
Christmas with her family. At 61, in the twilight of her life, that would be the best
Christmas gift she would probably receive.

Julian Part:
At this point, allow me to re-introduce our project (Lingkod Laya) through the
story of Lorna Pregoria--- a detainee of Manila City Jail. Because of the many
times we’ve talked, I have started calling her Lola Lorna. She is already 61 and is
suffering from a heart disease. Despite her age, she is exposed to dismal jail
conditions. Lola Lorna had already served the sentence for the crime that she
allegedly committed. However, one cannot just go out of jail, after serving one’s
sentence. There is still a rather complicated process for actual release. Lola Lorna
remains incarcerated because of the simple reason that no one follows-up her
release order. I can still vividly remember the first time I talked to her; she was in
tears asking us desperately for help since she did not want to spend another
Christmas in Jail. Lola Lorna is just one of the faces of our inadequate judicial
system, and the problems it create. Lola Lorna is the problem that our project aims
to address. 2nd Slide: Manila City Jail’s population in 2018 hit a staggering 6,400.
It has a congestion rate of 601%. What does this mean? Well, it means that a a cell
designed only for 50 persons, with zero to no proper ventilation will fit more than
200 inmates in one time. It means that water supply good for 50 inmates would
have to be shared with a hundred and fifty more. It means that jail resources would
have to be stretched beyond limits. It means an easy transfer of communicable lung
diseases. Through this project, I have personally seen many times, that our jail
facilities look like a can of sardines: dark, packed, dirty with a stinky odor. And the
problem is that, there are only 2 paralegal to process the release order of 6,400
detainees. And this is a ratio of 1paralegal :3200 detainees. Sadly, this has been
Lola Lorna’s world for 2 years now. It is against this harsh backdrop that our
project Lingkod Laya was born. The first two years of Lingkod Laya saw many
milestones that we are proud of: We made case follow-ups for more than 200
detainees; We were able to extend medical assistance to more than 100 sick
detainees, with free medicines; We have empowered hundreds of detainees in our
Paralegal Talks; We have given sanitary kits to almost a thousand detainees; But
the fact that we are most proud of: In the two years, We have successfully released
84 detainees: 28 from last year and 56 this year. We would like to believe that the
84 freed detainees, are not just numbers. These are 84 real people. These are 84
humans with different stories of struggles and survival. These are 84 former
inmates who have hopes and dreams. These are 84 former detainees who were
given another shot at life. We have 30 volunteers and 56 this year. Funding was a
challenge, but when your intention is pure, I think, a Higher Being sees your effort
and helps you along the way. It is only 37 days before Christmas and I am thinking
about Lola Lorna. we will make extra efforts, within my capacity, for Lola Lorna’s
release. Because, we hope that like you and me, she is going to spend her
Christmas with her family. At 61, in the twilight of her life, that would be the best
Christmas gift she would probably receive.