ABSTRACT

A large number of personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) are sued and charged in courts, tribunals and quasi-judicial bodies in relation to the performance of their duties. Feeling helpless and emotionally drained, they are left with no other choice but to procure the services of private counsels to protect their rights. One cannot imagine the struggle they suffer physically, emotionally, financially and psychologically in defending themselves against the accusations where in fact they merely performed what was incumbent upon them.

This action research aimed to address this predicament by looking into the possibility of creating a policy on the provision of free legal assistance for BFP personnel, especially that the Philippine National Police (PNP) is already implementing a similar policy for the police force, while the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) had already drafted a circular on the same for review of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Based on the data gathered by the Legislative Liaison Office of the National Headquarters, hundreds BFP personnel have been charged with service-related offenses from the year 2012 up to present. Out of these personnel, nineteen (19) were charged outside of the Bureau and only three (3) of which have been provided legal assistance and representation by the lawyers of the Bureau. This reality left our personnel distraught and discouraged to perform well in their functions.

To determine the need for free legal assistance in the BFP, its propriety and projected efficacy, qualitative data gathering procedures were used to generate information from the First, Second and Third Person. The ORJI Model, in application with the First Person, was employed in depicting our knowledge, experience, observation and judgment on the subject matter as legal officers who understand the procedures and consequences of being sued in courts, tribunal and quasi-judicial bodies. Meanwhile, as to the Second Person, a three-tier approach on active inquiry was made when we engaged with five (5) BFP personnel from among those who are sued or have been sued with service-related offenses. We used the pure, diagnostic and confrontive types of inquiry in exploring their emotions, reactions and experiences. To reinforce the inquiry, we utilized the four parts of speech Finally, for the Third Person of this study, we purposely gathered information on the practice, procedures, experience and recommendations of the Chiefs of the Legal Service of PNP, BJMP and BFP as collaborators, who implement or intend to implement a policy on fee legal assistance. We studied and analyzed the existing policies they have, the scope of their legal assistance program, and their recommendations to improve this type of government mechanism.

The provision of free legal assistance is founded on the principle of justice and humanitarian considerations that the BFP shall not judge the guilt or liability of its personnel based on the merits of their respective cases, but rather, to extend legal aid on the presumption of regularity on the performance of duty. The creation of the policy would alleviate the physical, financial, emotional, and psychological burdens that may be suffered by BFP personnel in defending themselves should cases be filed against them.
In conceptualizing the possible formulation of a policy on the subject matter, the following changes and issues were noted, namely: a) insufficient number of BFP lawyers; lack of a particular office/division under the Legal Service who shall exclusively perform the function of providing free legal assistance; c) the determination of the cases which may be covered by the free legal assistance program; and d) identification of funds that can be used for the reasonable expenses which may be incurred in the provision of free legal assistance.

Our collaborative efforts in analyzing the need for this kind of policy in the BFP, identification of the possible issues that may arise, and determination of solutions to avoid or mitigate these issues, was constructive and eye-opening on the part of the BFP to protect the rights of their personnel. Therefore, this Action Research presents a sound, timely and practical proposal to formulate a policy in the BFP for the provision of free legal assistance to its personnel.