FORTY law students will undergo a three-week training under the 2026 Legal Internship Program that the Office of the Ombudsman has launched.
Themed “Strengthening Competence, Instilling Integrity, Upholding Accountability,” the program introduces its first batch of interns to the office’s work, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.
“We ask only that you learn as much as you are able, and that you use your talents for the betterment of those not as privileged as yourselves,” said Assistant Ombudsman Maria Janina Hidalgo, chairman of the Legal Internship Program Committee and Selection Board.The Office of the Ombudsman said that Hidalgo “encouraged the interns to see the program not merely as a professional opportunity, but as an invitation to understand the human side of justice and accountability.”
It said that the interns would “work closely with mentors and supervising lawyers in investigation, administrative adjudication, prosecution, public assistance and corruption prevention.”
It added that they would immerse themselves in its core activities like case buildup and prosecution.
“Through the Legal Internship Program, the Office of the Ombudsman seeks to help form young legal minds who understand that the practice of law is not only about knowledge of statutes and procedures,” it said.
“The program allows law students to witness how accountability work is carried out with care, from listening to public concerns and gathering evidence, to upholding due process in the pursuit of justice,” it said.
