Strengthening the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) commitment to delivering “Real Justice in Real Time,” the Department, through the DOJ Action Center (DOJAC), in coordination with its other attached agencies, viz., National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Land Registration Authority (LRA), Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) – Northern Samar Chapter, Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT), and the National Prosecution Service (NPS) of Region VIII, joined by the Office of the Regional Prosecutor (ORP), Office of the Provincial Prosecutor (OPP), Offices of the City Prosecutor (OCP) of Calbayog and Borongan, and in collaboration with Province of Northern Samar, offered free governmental services to the people of the Province of Northern Samar last 8 August 2025 at the Provincial Capitol Gym, Catarman, Northern Samar.
In officially launching the event, Gov. Harris Ongchuan and Congressman Edwin Ongchuan, expressed their deep gratitude to the Department for the conduct of the one-stop legal aid outreach program, the Katarungan Caravan, in the province, as well as, the presentation of the Justice in Action Lecture Series to their constituents, highlighting the importance of upholding justice in the local communities.
Opening the event, Undersecretary Margarita N. Gutierrez underscored the Department’s commitment to bringing justice closer to the people; a testament to make justice equally accessible to all. She emphasized that the vision of the Katarungan Caravan is to bring free legal services to the community with justice within arm’s reach.
With more than 500 local constituents served, the Samareños openly availed of the free legal counselling from DOJAC, free notarization from PAO, free prosecutorial services and prosecutor’s clearance from NPS, free clearance from NBI, free counselling on land registration concerns from LRA, and free immigration-related services from BI.
As a full-blown legal aid program, the Katarungan Caravan was complemented with Lectures on Safe Spaces Act, delivered by Program Director ASP Joan Carla V. Guevarra, Katarungang Pambarangay Law, given by Katarungan Officer Atty. Augusto B. Cubias III, Anti-Trafficking Laws, explained by Executive Director Atty. Hannah Lizette S. Manalili, and Witness Protection Program and Victims’ Compensation delivered by Regional Prosecutor Irwin Maraya.
In the end, the joint efforts of the Provincial Government of Northern Samar and the Department assured extra attention to the needs of Samareños in pursuit of Real Justice in Real Time.”
