For high school students from Metro Manila: Join the Legal Awareness Club!

Starting this school year 2008-2009, I am organizing a club for high school students in the Metro Manila area to be known as the “Legal Awareness Club.” This organization seeks to provide high school students (2nd year up to 4th year, from public and private high schools), with a functional knowledge of the law and legal procedures in order to help them become more productive members of Philippine society.

This organization is inspired by a pioneering program of the Georgetown University in the USA and the “Popularizing the Law” program of the University of the Philippines. It will complement the Human Rights Education program of the Department of Education which was incorporated into the Basic Education Curriculum several years ago.

Activities of this club will include observation of actual courtroom proceedings and barangay conciliation proceedings, interviews with lawyers and judges, essay writing competitions, and lecture-seminars on public speaking, argumentation and debate and various legal topics. Certificates of merit and of attendance will be awarded to the participants.

Chapters of this club will be organized in different schools. Each school chapter will meet once a month for the activities mentioned above during an agreed upon schedule. All chapters will meet once a month for a general meeting at a time and venue to be arranged later.

For those who are interested in this organization (school principals, Human Rights Education teachers, Values Education teachers, and students from 2nd year up to 4th year), please e-mail me for more information at gtgalacio@yahoo.com.