Latest news with #PublicAttorney'sOffice
Filipino Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Filipino Times
Serbisyo Caravan in Dubai to offer free legal services to OFWs
The Public Attorney's Office (PAO) will offer free legal consultation, assistance, and counseling for overseas Filipino workers in the UAE this coming August 3. During the Bagong Bayani: OFW Serbisyo Caravan to be held at the Dubai World Trade Center, a team of PAO lawyers will provide legal help in criminal, civil, labor, administrative, and quasi-judicial cases to individuals who meet the qualifications set under PAO's guidelines. PAO, an attached agency of the Department of Justice, serves as the principal law office of the government for indigent individuals, offering representation in court and legal counseling at no cost. To qualify for PAO services, individuals must pass the indigency test, based on net monthly income, and the merit test, which determines if the case has legal merit and is not meant to harass or harm others.
GMA Network
16-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Senate bill seeks to penalize children who abandon elderly parents
Senator Ping Lacson has refiled a measure seeking to penalize children who fail to provide necessary support for their aging, sick, and incapacitated parents. In the explanatory note of Senate Bill No. 396 or the proposed "Parents Welfare Act of 2025," Lacson stressed that taking care of the elderly members of society is a shared responsibility of the children and the government. 'This proposed bill therefore seeks to further strengthen filial responsibility and to make it a criminal offense in case of flagrant violation thereof. Abandonment of a parent in need of support shall likewise constitute a criminal act,' the returning senator said. Under the proposed measure, parents in need of support who are unable to maintain themselves from their own earning or out of the property they owned, or who are incapacitated or incapable of supporting themselves, shall be given support by their children. If the parent concerned has several children, the support to be given shall be divided among them in proportion to their resources or financial capacity and in such manner as may be just and equitable. Grandchildren shall also be liable to support their ascendants if their parents cannot fulfill their duty to support due to death, illness or if they are unable to fully take care of themselves due to physical or mental disability or condition. The children shall have the option to fulfill the obligation either by paying the support fixed by a 'support order' or by receiving and maintaining in the family house of the parent concerned. Such a petition for support may be filed in the regional trial court with territorial jurisdiction over the place of residence of the petitioner. The legal representation of the parent in need of support will be provided by the Public Attorney's Office and no court fees will be assessed. Before hearing the petition, the court shall also refer the parties to a conciliation officer for mediation to preserve the family unity and peace. If the children so ordered fail to comply with the support order without sufficient cause or reason, the court may issue a warrant for levying the amount due for every breach of order. If the respondent fails to give support for three consecutive months without justifiable cause, the respondent shall face imprisonment of one to six months or a fine of P100,000. Whoever has the care or protection of a parent in need of support and abandons such parent will also face six to 10 years in jail and a fine of P300,000. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
