THE UST Department of Legal Management has introduced a new elective course tackling the fundamentals of the Philippine legal system, aimed at addressing students’ general apprehension toward the law.
The three-unit “Navigating the Philippine Legal, Judicial, and Tax Systems” provides an overview of Philippine legal principles, including the tax system.
It was initially offered in Term 2 as a general education elective to Faculty of Arts and Letters freshmen. The department plans to offer the course to other colleges, said lawyer Teodoro Lorenzo Fernandez, chair of the UST Department of Legal Management.
Fernandez said the course seeks to address the lack of appreciation for legal processes among students.
“I noticed a deficit in the appreciation of the Philippine legal system, the process of legislation. These are actually very important considering that our activities, practically everything we do is covered by laws,” Fernandez told the Varsitarian.
Fernandez also stressed the need to help students overcome their anxieties over legal compliance.
“There’s this general aversion to complying with rules, complying with the law, even with paying taxes,” he said.
“If you open them up to the reality that these are things that you should be doing, later on, when they become productive citizens, they will pay taxes,” he added. “You tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid of the law. It’s part of your life.’”
The course will particularly be helpful to students planning to go to law school, as it provides a foundational understanding of the Philippine legal system, he said.
This is the first elective course offered by the department to students outside its program. In August, the legal management program was placed under the newly formed Department of Legal Management.
Another Artlets elective expected to be offered to other academic units is the digital literacy and fact-checking course of the UST Department of Journalism, which was offered starting August 2024.