MANILA – Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo has assured prompt legal action for migrant workers and urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to initiate the proper charges against predatory legal counsels engaged in ambulance-chasing.
Meeting with Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Maria Susan Ople and other DMW officials on Monday at the Supreme Court, Gesmundo said the Judiciary will not tolerate lawyers who prey on OFWs through ambulance chasing, the practice of unethical lawyers who usually convince accident victims or their families to file injury lawsuits or other claims which, in most cases, benefit them more instead of the victims.
“If you’ve seen that some of our OFWs and workers are being exploited by these ambulance-chasing lawyers, you are not estopped from filing a complaint with the Court or with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). And then we can take action. But we want to make sure that the complainants are ready to provide evidence,” Gesmundo said.
DMW Assistant Secretary Jerome T. Pampolina pointed out how ambulance chasing is a real and urgent problem, especially for the maritime sector. It was suggested to intensify measures to instill discipline among lawyers against not just ambulance chasing, but also against other unethical acts.
Gesmundo shared that the Court has been imposing stricter disciplinary measures by suspending or disbarring lawyers who violate the Code of Professional Responsibility.
In line with this, the Chief Justice highlighted the ongoing revision to the proposed Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, emphasizing how the Court wants lawyers to be more accountable to all their stakeholders.
He acknowledged the concern of the DMW against lawyers who take advantage of migrant workers, and strongly encouraged the filing of complaints with the Supreme Court or the IBP against members of the Bar guilty of ambulance chasing.
The Chief Justice further said that the Court is open to working with the DMW to reach out to OFWs and their families in ensuring that access to justice is made available to them, especially since this is consistent with the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, the Supreme Court’s blueprint of plans and programs for the next five years. (PNA)
