THE Philippine Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) has asked the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) to extend free legal services to informal settler families facing demolition cases.

PCUP Commissioner Andre Niccolo Tayag, supervising head for Luzon, last week visited PAO's central office in Quezon City in a bid to forge a memorandum of agreement to formalize a partnership in providing services to indigent Filipinos.

Tayag said the commission has been the direct link between the urban poor and the national government.

"Basically, the PCUP serves as the bridge for the urban poor in providing their needs like housing and livelihood, and with our partnership with PAO, we could assure our poor kababayan (fellowmen) who could not afford to hire private lawyers that they would now have public attorneys from PAO that would help them seek justice," Tayag said.

He said PCUP's primary mandate was to ensure the demolition of the homes of informal settlers or their eviction is carried out in a just and humane manner.

PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said on Monday that her agency has long been coordinating with the commission and that a "fresh cooperation" could lead to more urban poor people enjoying free legal services.

She assured Tayag that PAO would fully support PCUP's advocacies for the protection of the urban poor.

They initially agreed to start identifying legitimate urban poor organizations, as Tayag welcomed Rueda-Acosta's offer for capacity-building and para-legal training that will be facilitated by PAO.

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