SC defers ban on gov’t lawyers from serving as IBP officers

Some government lawyers are now allowed to serve as Integrated Bar of the Philippines chapter officers for the 2025-2027 term, according to the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday.

The SC said it deferred the implementation of Section 4 of the Revised By-Laws, which prohibits government lawyers from serving as chapter officers.

This came after the SC En Banc approved the request of the IBP Board of Governors (BOG) to modify the Guidelines for the 2025 Elections Chapter Officer Guidelines, allowing government lawyers to hold chapter positions for a two-year term, except for the chapter president.

However, the SC said the following government lawyers are still ineligible: presidential appointees; national government or government-owned and/or controlled corporation officers with salary grade (SG) 26 or higher and local government unit officers with SG 25 or higher; elected officials; prosecutors; and those employed in the judiciary; those employed in quasi-judicial bodies

Meanwhile, the high court said that government lawyers should not comprise more than half of the total officer positions in a chapter.

It said this does not apply to chapters with less than 100 members.—LDF, GMA Integrated News