Lawyers from LGTON held a legal seminar and one-on-one legal consultations for a large group of Filipinos in Italy on 29 August 2024. The seminar drew an unprecedented crowd at the Social Hall of the Philippine Embassy in Rome, which was filled to capacity. More Filipinos arrived as the one-on-one consultations started.
Before the seminar, the LGTON Lawyers, led by LGTON Managing Partner Atty. Diosdado E. Trillana, met with Philippine Ambassador Nathaniel G. Imperial and Philippine Consul General Randy B. Arquiza. The ambassador and the consul general briefed the LGTON team about the Filipino community in Italy. Speaking on behalf of LGTON Law and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Atty. Trillana thanked the ambassador and the consul general for the opportunity given to LGTON Law to help Filipinos abroad through free legal seminars. LGTON Law and IBP had conducted similar seminars in France in 2022 and in Spain in 2023.
In his opening remarks during the seminar, Ambassador Imperial underscored the Embassy’s aim to provide free Philippine legal advice on the common legal concerns of Filipinos in Italy. Atty. Ma. Claribel M. Ochoa, the Philippine Embassy’s Second Secretary, facilitated the program and highlighted the Embassy’s efforts to establish a helpdesk for women experiencing domestic violence, provide apostille and other consular services, and facilitate access by Filipinos in Italy to government services in the Philippines.
The LGTON team delivered lectures on relevant Philippine law topics. First, Atty. Mikhaela Louisse B. Yambot discussed Philippine family law, with focus on annulment, effects of foreign divorce, legitimation, and the rights of illegitimate children. Second, Atty. Dale Angelo S. Dampil lectured on Philippine succession law, highlighting the process of estate settlement. Third, Atty. Julia Camille V. Real presented on Philippine law punishing violence against women and their children (Republic Act No. 9262). Atty. Real distinguished physical, sexual, and psychological violence, as well as economic abuse, and then discussed the case of AAA vs. BBB (G.R. No. 212448, 11 January 2018) which involved the applicability of RA 9262 on acts committed outside Philippine territory.
After the lectures, the LGTON Lawyers held one-on-one legal consultations with the participants. The consultations covered a wide range of topics, from family law and property law to criminal law.
The event was organized by the IBP, through its International Law and International Affairs Committee; the Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Philippine Embassy in Rome; and LGTON Law.
