Our role at IBP is not only to litigate and defend, but really to tell our people exactly what is the law.

Many legal cases and civil justice problems happen because the people have a lack of knowledge of the law, and that they don’t know their rights and how to enforce them, according to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) National President lawyer Domingo Egon Cayosa.

“Our role at IBP is not only to litigate and defend, but really to tell our people exactly what is the law, so that, if everybody understands it, there’ll be less cases in our courts,” Cayosa said.

As a champion of public legal education, the IBP hammered a partnership with the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) to make the knowledge of the law accessible for all.

Cayosa said that, for 47 years since its integration, IBP has been working within itself to do everything on its own. Until they realized that, to properly communicate the organizations’ messages, they need to tap a bevy of experts.

“I believe in partnerships, I believe in synergy. We may be good in argumentation, we may be good in the rule of law, but if you don’t know how to communicate that, you’re not changing anything in the society,” Cayosa stressed. “We’re very fortunate that IABC, the expert in communication, agreed to help us out. We can craft our communication and relationship with the public much better because we’re guided now.”

IABC President Belle Tiongco said the collaboration cannot be any more relevant now in this age of fake news and where the people and media consumers need clarity.

“This is really a significant action for us, it’s about making a difference in society because, if we are able to make this collaboration as powerful and as relevant to our public, then this pursues our mission of being part of nation-building,” Tiongco said. “We are communicators. What better way to do our role than to assist, to advise the people who uphold the law on communicating with the public?”

“IABC has always advocated communication as a tool to help our audience, our publics and to give significant contribution to communication,” IABC Chairman Joe Zaldarriaga said. “We see that IBP is now at the forefront of making sure that legal information is out there for the public. It is really our privilege to partner with them in bringing this across various audiences, particularly those who want to know more of their rights under the law.”

Added Zaldarriaga: “We’d like to continue advocating communication excellence for the leaders of this country, whether in the academe, in government or in the private sector. We will continue to fight fake news, and we will continue to bring the truth out there. With the partnership we have with IBP, we are very confident that we will eventually get there. It is just really a matter of time.”