Justice at the Breaking Point: Legal Advocates’ Critical Reflections on the Philippines’ Most Contentious Issues

The research adopted a qualitative research design, specifically using transcendental phenomenology, to explore and understand the perspectives and lived experiences of legal advocates on major national issues in the Philippines. The informants for this study were the legal advocates from San Fernando, Cebu, Philippines, and it was conducted there, who are willing to share their insights on major national issues. A total of 10 informants with at least one year as legal advocate were interviewed one-on-one to gain a deeper understanding of their perspectives on legal matters affecting the country.
In gathering of data, the researchers utilized self-made-panel approached interview guide consisting of the following parts; part 1, perspectives of the informants on major national issues in the Philippines; part 2, legal community perceive its role in addressing current national issues; part 3, prevailing views of the legal community on the effectiveness of existing laws and policies related to national issues; part 4, legal community assess the government's adherence to the rule of law in handling national issues; part 5, recent national issues affected the practice of law and legal profession in the country; part 6, perspective of the legal community on the balance between human rights and national security in policy-making. It was collected and analyzed.
Results revealed that on the perspectives of the informants in the performance of their function, the themes generated were: For the perspectives of the informant on the major national issues in the Philippines, the themes generated were: Systemic Corruption and Governance Breakdown and Rule of Law and Institutional Integrity. For the perception of legal advocates in its role in addressing current national issues, the themes generated were: Lawyers as Reformers and Policy Influencers and Legal Advocacy as Public Education and Empowerment.
For the views of the legal community on the effectiveness of existing laws and policies related to national issues, the themes generated were: Enforcement Gaps and Governance Challenges and Political Will and Civic Engagement as Drivers of Legal Effectiveness.
For the legal community's assessment of the government’s adherence to the rule of law in handling national issues, the themes generated were: Selective Enforcement and Politicization of Legal Processes and Oversight, Transparency, and Accountability Mechanisms. For the effects of the national issues in the practice of law and legal profession in the country, the themes generated were: Ethical Integrity and Professional Responsibility and Adaptation, Innovation, and Resilience in Legal Practice. For the perspectives of the legal community on the balance between human rights and national security in policy-making, the themes generated were: Balancing Rights and Security as a Legal Imperative and Rule of Law and Due Process as Safeguards.

Perspective, Legal Advocates, Major National Issues, Phenomenology, SanFernando Cebu, Philippines.

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