Just today, Atty. Chel Diokno announced the release of public Facebook group Volunteers and Lawyers for the Rule of Law or VALOR-19 for short. As the name suggests, VALOR-19 is dedicated to answering the public’s pressing legal questions during the COVID-19 outbreak. In partnership with the Office of the Vice President, the FB page was launched on Apr. 8.

We teamed up with the Office of the VP and volunteer lawyers and law students to mobilize this resource. Alam nating maraming katanungan sa batas ang mga kababayan natin ngayon. Follow the page and we’ll do our best to answer your legal questions: https://t.co/8v1OLKt5m9 pic.twitter.com/L4WGZAM1yF

— Chel Diokno (@ChelDiokno) April 9, 2020

The attorney’s tweet is quickly garnering traction online, and for good reason. In this unsure environment, there are stricter protocols being put in place for curfews, checkpoints and penalizing of “fake news.”

This is why public citizens need a more accessible platform to air out their legal questions and have a reference to make informed decisions. Hopefully, the existence of this group can help the public by answering their questions and addressing their concerns through the OVP. Having publicly available legal assistance over Facebook could also provide more support and reassurance for citizens during this uncertain time.

Bayanihan is definitely alive and well thanks to our volunteers across all sectors.