The province of Iloilo is upgrading its guidance counseling services in teen centers by offering legal education to secondary students under its “alaLAYI: Pag-ubay Legal sa Kabataan” program.
In partnership with the Central Philippine University College of law, the program aims to provide legal assistance to the school-based multipurpose teen centers maintained by the Provincial Population Office.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. signed a memorandum of agreement with Atty. Aila Rae Endonila, dean of the CPU College of Law; and Dr. Ernesto Servillon Jr., Department of Education Iloilo Schools Division Superintendent during the launching of the alaLAYI program on April 8, 2025 at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol lobby.
Witnessing the MOA signing are PPO chief Atty. Ruel Von Superio, CPU College of Law Assistant Dean Atty. Liza Lyn Lamason-Garcia, Commission on Population and Development VI Regional Director Harold Alfred Marshall, Integrated Bar of the Philippines Iloilo Chapter President Atty. Mehelinda Penetrante, and DepEd Iloilo School Governance and Operations Division chief Dr. Gilbert Solidum.
alaLAYI is a portmanteau of the term “alalay” which means to guide and “layi” which means law.
“alaLAYI literally means providing guidance to our learners and our students on the provisions of the law and the insights of jurisprudence, teaching them of legal rights and such other legal matters,” Atty. Superio said.
Under the program, the law student practitioners through the CPU Legal Aid Clinic and Clinical Education Program (CLEP) will provide lectures and seminars on relevant laws to the teen center peer helpers, peer facilitators, and high school students. Some of the topics include gender-based laws, sexuality education, and voter’s education.
The law students will also offer legal assistance in the form of legal advice, referrals for legal representation, drafting and preparation of simple affidavits and legal documents.
The initial recipients are the teen centers at the municipalities of Alimodian, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Oton, Pavia, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Zarraga.
Governor Defensor said the program strengthens the provincial government’s thrust of institutionalizing transformative education in secondary schools.
He thanked the CPU College of Law and the legal community for taking part in empowering and educating the students of their legal rights. He added that more than the legal guidance, this initiative strengthens Iloilo’s commitment of building democratic institutions.
“This is a big part of the educational system of the province as we try to build our nation from the level of secondary education,” he said.
This undertaking with the CPU College of Law is just among the initiatives of the Iloilo provincial government in partnering with the academe to pursue the academic and holistic well-being of young people under its education reform program Bulig Eskwela sang Probinsya (BES Probins).
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