Justice in a Fragmented Nation: Legal Advocates Narratives on Conflict, Crises, and Reforms

This study explores the perspectives of Legal Advocates on Major National Issues in the Philippines, specifically within the municipalities of Dalaguete and Alcoy. It further describes their viewpoints on significant concerns such as Human Rights Violations, Extrajudicial Killings, Political Dynasties, Corruption, and the territorial dispute involving the West Philippine Sea. The study utilized a qualitative research method employing the transcendental phenomenological approach. The informants of this study were ten (10) private lawyers practicing in Dalaguete and Alcoy, Cebu. Selection of informants were through purposive sampling based on qualifications which is the informants should have worked at their office for a minimum period of three years in Dalaguete and Alcoy, Cebu City, Philippines.
Twelve (12) themes emerged from the findings: (1) Fragile Institutions —Weak governance, corruption, and poor protection of rights and sovereignty; (2) Balanced Governance —Accountability, democracy, and sovereignty must work together; (3) Guardians of Justice — Lawyers defend rights, promote fairness, and build public trust;(4) Law in Motion — Legal advocacy evolves with societal change and reform; (5) Laws Without Teeth — Weak enforcement leaves justice unfulfilled.; (6) Reform for Relevance— Laws must be updated and fairly applied; (7) Unequal Justice —Slow and biased processes weaken public trust; (8) Stronger Institutions, Stronger Nation — Accountability and reform restore faith in law; (9) Ethics Beyond Law — Justice requires integrity and accountability; (10) Resilient Advocates — Lawyers remain defenders despite systemic challenges; (11) Balanced Governance — Human rights and national security must coexist; and (12)Fair Implementation — Laws must be applied impartially for the common good.

Legal Advocates, National Issues, Human Rights, Political Dynasties, Corruption, Extrajudicial Killings, West Philippine Sea, Rule of Law, Governance, Philippines

1. Books [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Dworkin, R. (1986). Law’s empire. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Norman, E. B. (1977). Taking rights seriously. Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Journals [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Arugay, A. A. (2005). Societal accountability and democratization in the Philippines. Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 9(1), 71–85. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Davis, D. B., Mendoza, R. U., & Yap, J. K. (2024). Corruption risk and political dynasties: Exploring the links using public procurement data in the Philippines. Economics of Governance, 25(1), 81–109. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Dressel, B., Inoue, T., & Bonoan, C. R. (2023). Justices and political loyalties: An empirical investigation of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, 1987–2020. Law & Social Inquiry, 49(2), 955–979. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Elok, B., & Setiyono, J. (2023). Extrajudicial killing vs due process of law (Comparative study in the Philippines and Indonesia). International Journal of Social Science & Humanities Research, 6(6). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Espiritu, R. A. (2025, July 27). Framing Rodrigo Duterte’s ICC arrest: Examining coverage in Philippine news media. Journal of Social and Political Sciences. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Gabriel, A. G., Antonio, M. A. B., Ramos, V. B., & Marasigan, J. T. (2019). Transparency and accountability in local governance: The nexus between democracy and public service delivery in the Philippines. Public Policy and Administration Research, 9(7). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Hernando, C. M. D. (2020). Public accountability in regulatory governance. Journal of Public Affairs and Development, 7(1), Article 5. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Lodangco, J. M. (2023). Bias in the law: A definitive look at racial prejudice in the Philippine criminal justice system: A systematic literature review. Journal of Advances in Humanities Research, 2(3), 9–34. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Regalado, J. (2024). Trust in legal institutions: An examination of the Philippines. Asian Journal of Criminology, 19(3), 527–550. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Regalado, J., & Sun, I. Y. (2024). Trust in legal institutions: An examination of the Philippines. Asian Journal of Criminology, 19(3), 527–550. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Villegas, P. S. L. (2024). Human rights and the law enforcement in the criminal justice system: A case study of the City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, Philippines. Journal of Advances in Humanities Research, 2(3). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Villa, H. P. (2024). Oriental and Western worldviews on extrajudicial killings in the era of Duterte with Facebook as space of discourse: A discourse-historical approach. Journal of Contemporary Social Sciences and Humanities. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Internet Sources [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Alternative Law Groups & Ateneo Human Rights Center. (2024, August 8). Legal Pathfinders Fellows Training – Essential to Forming Lawyers-for-Communities. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). (2023). The success of the JUSTICE project, a six-year effort to advance justice in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Amnesty International Philippines. (2025, April). Left to their own devices: The chilling effects of online harassment among young human rights defenders in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Asia Media Centre. (2023). Asia’s political dynasties: Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Asian Legal Resource Centre. (2021). Extrajudicial executions with impunity require access to justice. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Ateneo Human Rights Center. (2024, August 8). Anti-Red-Tagging Monitoring Dashboard and Situation Report: "Unraveling the Web: The Red-tagging Situation in the Philippines". [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Batongbacal, J. L., Disini, J. J., Esquivias, M., Gatmaytan, D., Reyes, O. X. A., & Te, T. (2020). Building a resilient judicial system. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Buendia, R. G. (2021, April 25). Philippine political development: Challenges and prospects after Marcos authoritarian rule. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Co, E. E. A., Malaluan, N., Neame, A., Manuel, M., & Musngi, M. R. (2010). Philippine democracy assessment: Rule of law and access to justice. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. (2024, September 17). Statement welcoming the measure prohibiting all forms of discrimination (SB No. 2766). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Commission on Human Rights. (2017). Report on extrajudicial killings and rights violations in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Council on Foreign Relations. (2024). The South China Sea dispute. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Dagooc, E. M. (2017). Job prospects missed due to outdated laws. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Feliciano, M. S., Agabin, P. A., Magallona, M. M., & Sison, C. V. (2017). Modernization of laws in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Gaerlan, S. H. (2024, March 22). Justice Gaerlan emphasizes importance of ethics in legal excellence. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Harnessing digital tools: The evolution of legal practices in the Philippines. (2024, April 15). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Hilbay, F. (2016, July 20). Why the Philippines excluded Itu Aba in the South China Sea arbitration. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Human Rights Watch. (2011, July 18). "No justice just adds to the pain": Killings, disappearances, and impunity in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Human Rights Watch. (2024, May 8). Philippines: Supreme Court rejects 'red-tagging'. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Human Rights Watch. (2025, March 12). Philippines: Duterte arrested on ICC warrant. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Integrated Bar of the Philippines. (n.d.). Professional legal conduct and ethics – Duty to the public. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. International Bar Association. (2025). Statement on the ICC arrest warrant for Rodrigo Duterte. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. International Commission of Jurists. (2022, November 26). Philippines: Judges affirm the need to incorporate gender perspective in adjudication. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. International Committee of the Red Cross. (2020, August 13). Philippines: Strengthening domestic knowledge and enforcement of IHL. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. International Criminal Court. (2023). About the ICC. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. International Development Law Organization (IDLO). (n.d.). Integrity and anti-corruption in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. IP Defense Forum. (2025, January 24). Philippines seeks multilateral arbitration case against PRC's South China Sea aggression. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. MTF Counsel. (2023, August 3). Fighting corruption in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. National Union of People's Lawyers. (n.d.). Protection and Welfare of Lawyers Program. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2020). Report on the human rights situation in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

52. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (1987). The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

53. Patag, K. J. (2023, April 13). New lawyers' code includes behavior on social media, pledge to 'do justice'. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

54. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. (2025, May 20). Obese dynasties of the Philippines: Results crowned again, but reform hopes rise for 2028 polls. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

55. Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). (2007). Policy reforms and institutional weaknesses: Closing the gap. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

56. Philippine Star. (2023, March 22). Philippines ineffective at implementing anti-corruption laws, US report finds. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

57. Supreme Court of the Philippines. (2004). A.M. No. 5161: Code of Professional Responsibility & Accountability. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

58. Supreme Court of the Philippines. (2011, August 16). Prof. Merlin M. Magallona, et al. v. Eduardo Ermita, et al., G.R. No. 187167. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

59. Supreme Court of the Philippines. (2023). Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

60. Supreme Court of the Philippines. (2024). About the Supreme Court. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

61. The Asia Foundation. (2017). Legal & justice reform in the Philippines. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

62. Transparency International. (2020). Global Corruption Barometer 2020. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

63. Transparency International. (2023). Corruption Perceptions Index 2022. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

64. Transparency International. (2024). Corruption Perceptions Index 2023. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

65. U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. (2016, July 12). South China Sea arbitration ruling: What happened and what's next? [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

66. U4 Helpdesk. (2023). The Philippines: Corruption and anti-corruption efforts. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

67. United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2020, June 4). Philippines: UN report details widespread human rights violations and persistent impunity. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study