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MANILA, June 18, 2026 (SDN) — The Supreme Court En Banc unanimously appointed on June 3 Atty. Bai Ayla Herazade Ebos Salendab Ayonayon as the first executive officer of the Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS) Office.
Bai Ayla, alumna of San Beda University (SBU) College of Law, got the prestigious appointment through the recommendation of Supreme Court Associate Justice and ULAS Board Chairperson Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa.
Before her stint with the country’s High Tribunal starting in 2017, Bai Ayla worked at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) Office of the Chief Minister (OCM) as assistant secretary.
She is married to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Lt. Col. Lloyd Ayonayon, Philippine Navy (PN), of Cagayan province. He and Ayla has their first born, Bai Rory, who completes her first summer in September 2026.
Bai Ayla is the third child of business and farmer couple Datu Camaro and Hadja Jolly Ebos Salendab.
Their two other children are Dr. Bai Svetlana Ebos Salendab Mama of the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Hospital in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, Region XII, and Atty. Mohammad Badr Ebos Salendab, director general at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (BARMM-MENRE).
A check on the internet showed the Supreme Court launched the initial phase of the ULAS Portal last March 3 as it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), and Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP).
The ULAS Portal is “a centralized digital platform that will streamline how lawyers report and monitor compliance with the mandatory delivery of pro bono legal aid services to underprivileged and indigent Filipinos.”
Covered lawyers under the ULAS Rules are required “to render at least 60 hours of legal aid services every three years to individuals who cannot afford adequate legal presentation,” a mandate founded on Article III, Section 11 of the Constitution, guaranteeing free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies aimed at ensuring a sufficient legal assistance “shall not be denied to anyone by reason of poverty.”
Here’s an artificial intelligence (AI) Overview of ULAS per Google:
- Coverage: It establishes a unified, mandatory pro bono requirement replacing disparate or ad-hoc legal aid systems, incentivizing lawyers to engage in public service. [1]
- Implementation & Guidelines: The Supreme Court approved the ULAS Rules Manual which details the operating procedures, eligibility criteria for beneficiaries, and compliance tracking. [1, 2]
- Digital Integration: Lawyers track their render hours and submit compliance reports through an online ULAS Portal on the Philippine Judiciary Platform. [1, 2]
Click this link: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/spji/unified-legal-aid-service-2/ for a more detailed information on ULAS. — EDD K. USMAN (/)
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The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, Manila Business Insights, Panorama Magazine, Agriculture Magazine, and others, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (®)