MANDATORY CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (MCLE)

ADOPTING THE RULES ON MANDATORY CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION FOR MEMBERS

OF THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES
RULE 1 - PURPOSE
Sec. 1. Purpose of the MCLE. Continuing legal education is required of members of the Integrated
Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to ensure that throughout their career, they keep abreast with law
and jurisprudence, maintain the ethics of the profession and enhance the standards of the
practice of law.

RULE 2 - MANDATORY CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION

Sec. 2. Requirements of completion of MCLE. Members of the IBP not exempt under Rule 7 shall
complete, every three (3) years, at least thirty-six (36) hours of continuing legal education
activities approved by the MCLE Committee. Of the 36 hours:
(a) At least six (6) hours shall be devoted to legal ethics.
(b) At least (4) hours shall be devoted to trial and pretrial skills.
(c) At least five (5) hours shall be devoted to alternative dispute resolution.
(d) At least nine (9) hours shall be devoted to updates on substantive and procedural laws, and
jurisprudence.
(e) At least four (4) hours shall be devoted to legal writing and oral advocacy.
(f) At least two (2) hours shall be devoted to international law and international conventions.
(g) The remaining six (6) hours shall be devoted to such subjects as may be prescribed by the
MCLE Committee.

RULE 7 - EXEMPTIONS
Sec. 1. Parties exempted from the MCLE. The following members of the Bar are exempt from the
MCLE requirement:
(a) The President and the Vice President of the Philippines, and the Secretaries and
Undersecretaries of Executives Departments;
(b) Senators and Members of the House of Representatives;
(c) The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, incumbent and retired
members of the judiciary, incumbent members of the Judicial and Bar Council, incumbent
members of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee, incumbent court lawyers who
have availed of the Philippine Judicial Academy program of continuing judicial education; (as
amended by July 14, 2004 Resolution of the SC en banc)
(d) The Chief State Counsel, Chief State Prosecutor and Assistant Secretaries of the Department
of Justice;
(e) The Solicitor General and the Assistant Solicitor General;
(f) The Government Corporate Counsel, Deputy and Assistant Government Corporate Counsel;
(g) The Chairmen and Members of the Constitutional Commissions;

(h) The Ombudsman, the Overall Deputy Ombudsman, the Deputy Ombudsmen and the Special
Prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman;
(i) Heads of government agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions;
(j) Incumbent deans, bar reviews and professors of law who have teaching experience for at least
10 years accredited law schools;
(k) The Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and members of the Corps of Professors and Professorial
Lectures of the Philippine Judicial Academy; and
(l) Governors and Mayors.

Sec. 2. Other parties exempted from the MCLE. The following Members of the Bar are likewise
exempt:
(a) Those who are not in law practice, private or public.
(b) Those who have retired from law practice with the approval of the IBP Board of
Governors.

RULE 15 - MANDATORY CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Sec 1. Composition. The MCLE Committee shall be composed of five (5) members, namely: a
retired Justice of the Supreme Court, as Chair, and four (4) members, respectively, nominated by
the IBP, the Philippine Judicial Academy, a law center designated by the Supreme Court and
associations of law schools and/or law professors.
The members of the Committee shall be of proven probity and integrity. They shall be appointed
by the Supreme Court for a term of three (3) years and shall receive such compensation as may
be determined by the Court.

FOUR-FOLD DUTIES OF A LAWYER

1. Duties to SOCIETY
- should not violate his responsibility to society, exemplar for righteousness, ready to render
legal aid, foster social reforms, guardian of due process, aware of special role in the
solution of special problems and be always ready to lend assistance in the study and
solution of social problems.
2. Duties to the LEGAL PROFESSION
- candor, fairness, courtesy and truthfulness, avoid encroachment in the business of other
lawyers, uphold the honor of the profession.
3. Duties to the COURT
- respect or defend against criticisms, uphold authority and dignity, obey order and
processes, assist in the administration of justice.
4. Duties to the CLIENT
- entire devotion to clients interest.

Notary Public

SECTION 1. Qualifications. - A notarial commission may be issued by an Executive Judge to any

qualified person who submits a petition in accordance with these Rules.
To be eligible for commissioning as notary public, the petitioner:
(1) must be a citizen of the Philippines;
(2) must be over twenty-one (21) years of age; (3) must be a resident in the Philippines
for at least one (1) year and maintains a regular place of work or business in the city or
province where the commission is to be issued;
(4) must be a member of the Philippine Bar in good standing with clearances from the
Office of the Bar Confidant of the Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines;
and
(5) must not have been convicted in the first instance of any crime involving moral
turpitude.

SEC. 2. Prohibitions.
(a) A notary public shall not perform a notarial act outside his regular place of work or business;
provided, however, that on certain exceptional occasions or situations, a notarial act may be
performed at the request of the parties in the following sites located within his territorial
jurisdiction:
(1) public offices, convention halls, and similar places where oaths of office may be
administered;
(2) public function areas in hotels and similar places for the signing of instruments or documents
requiring notarization;
(3) hospitals and other medical institutions where a party to an instrument or document is
confined for treatment; and
(4) any place where a party to an instrument or document requiring notarization is under
detention.

SEC. 11. Jurisdiction and Term. - A person commissioned as notary public may perform
notarial acts in any place within the territorial jurisdiction of the commissioning court for a period
of two (2) years commencing the first day of January of the year in which the commissioning is
made, unless earlier revoked or the notary public has resigned under these Rules and the Rules
of Court.
Notarization of a private document converts such document into a public one, and renders it admissible in
court without further proof of its authenticity.
Duties of a notary public -