By. Aljon P. Tugaoen

In the spirit of service, six Mariano Marcos State University law clinic students assisted in the free consultation for 59 Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) in the Batac District Jail of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Brgy. Magnuang, Batac City, on November 18.The law student-practitioners who offered assistance are Clifftine Mae Agdeppa, Roi Angeli Domingo, Kyla Janine Garvida, Christian Glenn Nicolai Lucas, Eunice Francia Macagba, and Christian Paul Salvatierra.
 
Last month, the law students were sworn in as Level II-certified law student practitioners in the Regional Trial Court First Judicial Region - Branch 18 in the City of Batac, having been authorized to practice under the Student Practice Rule.
 
Atty. Ma. Saniata Marcos, MMSU College of Law secretary, expressed her gratitude to RTC for giving the student practitioners an avenue to apply conceptual and practical knowledge in law.
 
“Their interactions with PDLs give them not only the opportunity to apply their learning in class, but, more importantly, gain empathy which is an essential characteristic of a lawyer,” she shared. Food packs were also given to the PDLs, as well as to jail officers.
 
Together with the students during the activity were Judge Maria Corazon M. Labrador, executive judge of RTCs of Batac City, Judge Felix Salvador of RTC - Branch 17, City Prosecutor Valentin Pascua, who also serves as a law professor of the MMSU - College of Law, and the public attorneys of Batac District.
 
The activity was part of the jail visitation and dialogue in celebration of the 47th founding anniversary of the Bulwagan ng Katarungan, City of Batac, Ilocos Norte. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)