Projects

The project, “Stories from the Field: Overcoming Access to Justice Barriers through Grassroots Communities’ Participation and Collective Action” is a 3-year project supported by the IDRC (International Development Research Centre).

It consists of multi-thematic research studies to generate knowledge and evidence on key legal empowerment approaches and their contribution to empowering and strengthening grassroots communities’ participation and collective action to bridge access to justice gaps.

Overcoming access to justice barriers through grassroots communities’ participation and CSO intervention: The primary objective is to enhance the capacity of CSOs in assisting local communities in addressing access to justice gaps.

The project aims to enhance the accessibility of quality legal assistance and representation to communities and Human Rights Defenders on just energy transition-related cases.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the improvement of the Human Rights situation in the Philippines primarily through the enhancement of the relationship between the AFP and PNP, on one hand, and local communities and civil society organizations, on the other hand, in the common effort to promote human rights. The specific objective of the project is to help create venues for the AFP and the PNP on one hand, primarily through their respective human rights offices, and civil society organizations on the other hand, to collectively discuss the issue of human rights promotion and protection, and how cooperative efforts for on-going and future actions toward human rights promotion and protection can be maximized.

ALG is the current regional anchor in Southeast Asia for the Grassroots Justice Network – Namati, a community of grassroots justice defenders spread across the world. We are responsible for convening the members in the whole of Southeast Asia.

ALG has partnered with the Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), a Jakarta-based NGO, to promote transitional justice knowledge, information and expertise in the Asia region.

In 2021, the Philippines was identified as the deadliest country in Asia and third in the world for environmental defenders, with women facing unique vulnerabilities and even graver threats. In the face of continued extractive human activities that have devastating environmental impacts, along with the persistent feminization of the burden of managing natural resources for a household’s survival, the WEDefend (Women Environmental Defenders) Project will advance women’s leadership through innovative and direct support that empowers and capacitates the women environmental defenders (WEDs).

ALG is a primary member of a network composed of people from the academe, youth, civil society organizations, the private sector, and the media that aims to raise public engagement on the judicial appointments process.

The project sought to enhance the relationship between local communities, especially women and marginalized sectors, and their newly-elected local government officials, by enhancing the capacity of the two groups to develop and implement innovative local solutions to their problems.

Brief Description
The project’s main objective was to enable the poor in general, and poor women and children in particular, in selected project areas, to pursue justice through their increased knowledge about basic rights and the judicial system, and to create an enabling, supportive environment to this effect within the judiciary and the institutions of law enforcement, as well as an overall legal framework amended to ensure the rights of poor women and children in particular. The project sought to expand the Information, Education and Communication infrastructure of the Court system by delegating one Clerk of Court as Municipal Court Information Officer (MCIO) in the Municipal Courts in the project areas. The project also sought to establish legal information desks in co-operation with the Barangay Council and Chairperson. Capacity building activities were conducted for those involved in the Barangay Justice System, paralegals, women and children. An effort was made to enhance the sensitivity of those working in law enforcement and the judiciary to the problems of the poor.

Through the project, the ALG plays the critical roles of disseminating information about the law (helping communities, especially marginalized communities, understand the draft law and its implications), integrating human rights principles in the law (ensuring the protection of indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups), and actively engaging in policy debates (making known the coalition’s position on various constitutional and other issues, in the legislative debates, and, possibly, before the Supreme Court).

The overall objective of the JURIS project was to contribute to Philippine efforts to foster efficient, fair, responsive, transparent, and accountable governance at all levels. In particular, the project had worked to strengthen and promote more effective use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms, and to strengthen support for access to justice reforms and catalyze supportive reform through engaging internal and external governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders in cooperative advocacy efforts. The specific objective of the JURIS Project was to support the Supreme Court’s (SC) Action Program for Judicial Reform (APJR) related to ADR and access to justice by the poor and marginalized.