Empowering communities with legal knowledge makes justice more accessible

By Hazel Lavitoria, Executive Director, Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panlegal (SALIGAN, Alternative Legal Assistance Centre), Philippines

The GEM Report’s Learning to build just societies report highlights the essential role of legal empowerment in enabling people to claim their rights, participate in decision-making and hold governments accountable, including for the right to education. Founded in the late 1980s, SALIGAN was one of the first organisations in the Philippines to champion a legal empowerment approach to community justice.

Improving legal literacy in the Philippines

One of the key challenges we address is the lack of access to basic legal knowledge. In the Philippines, the legal system is highly professionalized and only a small segment of the population has the opportunity to study law or gain familiarity with legal processes. At the same time, legal literacy is not widely integrated into the formal education system. Basic legal knowledge – like understanding family law, property rights or workers’ rights – is not taught in schools. So many people simply don’t know their rights or where to go if those rights are violated.

My journey with SALIGAN began when I was still a law student. I first joined as an intern, drawn to its mission of promoting social justice through legal empowerment. After passing the bar, I returned as a lawyer and, over time, took on different roles across the organization—from working directly with communities to helping shape our broader strategy. These experiences have deeply influenced how I understand justice and the role that legal empowerment can play in people’s lives.

Traditional legal aid often focuses on providing lawyers to represent individuals. Our approach at SALIGAN is different. We believe that communities themselves should understand the law and be able to use it to advocate for their rights. For us, legal empowerment is about shifting knowledge and power closer to the people.

To address this gap, SALIGAN works directly with communities through training programmes, workshops and partnerships with grass-roots organizations, in community settings, often collaborating with local groups such as labour unions, community leaders and service providers. One of our flagship initiatives is the Paralegal Formation Programme. Through this programme, we train community members to become legal resource persons within their own organizations and neighborhoods. These are not paralegals in the traditional sense. They are community leaders and advocates who are equipped with practical legal knowledge and skills.

These paralegals become the first point of contact for legal questions in their communities. They help fellow workers understand their rights, assist union members in filing complaints, and sometimes even represent themselves or their organizations in administrative proceedings.

The impact of these programmes has been far-reaching. Many trained paralegals have gone on to play active roles in shaping public policy and advocating for stronger labour protections. Some of our paralegals are now appearing before Congress to propose legislation. They are advocating for laws that protect workers in sectors like business process outsourcing and the gig economy.

SALIGAN’s work also extends to other critical social issues, including gender equality and responses to gender-based violence, housing rights, indigenous peoples’ rights, environmental protection and community participation in governance. Despite this breadth, our mission remains simple and transformative: to empower communities to become their own advocates.

We often say that the ultimate goal of alternative lawyering is to put ourselves out of business. If communities are fully equipped to defend their rights without needing our support, then we have truly succeeded.

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