ALABEL, SARANGANI: THE provincial legal office ended a two-day seminar Friday to upgrade the skills of legislative staff in doing legal research.
"We do not like to have ordinances ineffective in Sarangani," said Atty. Arnel Zapatos, provincial legal officer.
Zapatos said the "Know Your Laws" seminar was geared at boosting the competence of provincial and municipal legislative workers who do legal research for provincial board members and municipal councilors.
He pointed out the doctrine "Ignorance of the law excuses no one" should motivate the 90 participants to familiarize themselves with laws and to have better legal research.
This is especially true, he said, for local legislative staff officers and assistants as "they are the ones guiding legislators in the formulation of laws and legislations."
Zapatos said legal researchers do not only write and prepare what is tasked to them but they have to "think both politically and legally."
A study defines legal research as the "process of finding the laws, rules, and regulations that govern activities in human society. It involves locating both the laws and rules which are enforced by the state and the commentaries which explain or analyze these rules."
It says that "the ability to use its fundamental tools and to implement an effective and efficient research plan is necessary for all those whose functions deal directly or indirectly to the legislative branch of the local government unit."
Zapatos was confident the seminar would be a good venue to empower and capacitate legislative staff especially in the passage of appropriate ordinances for the province.
His office will also conduct seminars on the Human Security Act next month and on Gender Sensitive Laws in September.
SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE