DivinaLaw has extended its free legal assistance program beyond Philippine borders, holding its first international legal clinic for overseas Filipino workers in Chongqing, China on 27 October, according to a report by the Daily Tribune.
The initiative, conducted through the firm’s Dulog Legal program and organized in coordination with the Philippine Consulate General in Chongqing, gathered OFWs and consulate personnel both onsite and online from Chongqing, Guizhou, and Yunnan. Participants included teachers, engineers, homemakers, and other Filipino workers seeking guidance on issues affecting migrant communities.
Topics covered during the session included employment rights, contract concerns, taxation, property matters, citizenship, and the recognition of foreign divorce — issues many Filipinos encounter while living and working abroad.
DivinaLaw Managing Partner Atty. Nilo Divina originally launched Dulog Legal in 2022. The recent activity marks the program’s 12th offering and its first outside the Philippines.
Senior partners and associates from the firm, including Atty. Edwin Uy, Atty. Aldren Francis Gonzales, and Atty. Gregorio Larrazabal, led the China session, joined by other firm lawyers specializing in cross-border legal concerns and pro bono work.
Atty. Mary Jude Marvel, who heads DivinaLaw’s Dulog Legal–Pro Bono Services, said the decision to begin the program’s overseas roll-out in China was prompted by the presence of an active Filipino community and an independent Philippine Consulate in Chongqing.
“When we reached out to them, everything just fell into place,” Marvel shared. She stressed the importance of legal education for migrant Filipinos dealing with complex concerns involving overlapping foreign and Philippine laws. “These are complex cross-border legal matters,” she said. “Even well-informed individuals may not fully grasp them without professional guidance.”
While the firm has yet to finalize the next destination for Dulog Legal abroad, Marvel noted that the program’s expansion will be guided by Filipino community needs and consular partnerships.
“Our focus will be guided more by community needs and consular partnerships than by geography,” she said.
