Text by Reynel Cetrien Ligan
Photos by Macky Gallego

In observance of the crime prevention month, the Xavier University Center for Legal Assistance (XUCLA), in partnership with the Southern Philippines College (SPC), conducted lectures in Cagayan de Oro schools in September.

Through the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP), senior students of the XU College of Law spoke before an audience of about 80 students per school on the criminal justice system. XUCLA director Atty Jarley Sulay-Trugillo and the program officer for legal aid and case management Atty Melanie Ortiz-Rosete facilitated and assisted the students in the lectures.

Likewise, SPC senior criminology students addressed varying challenges to safety and security, and gave tips for crime prevention.

The lecture series had stops in Shekinah Glory, Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School, Cagayan de Oro City High School, Regional Science High School, and Capitol University Basic Education Department.

Now a leading legal aid center in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, XUCLA provides not only legal representation, but also legal education through its formation programs.

“There is a need to demystify the language of the law, to relay its message in our contemporary and casual lingo so that even the lowliest of persons can understand what the law says,” said XUCLA program coordinator Neoven Patrick Emnace. “Only when we demystify its language can we say that our people are truly empowered by the law.”