MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

This MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) entered into this day of

, 202__ at , Philippines, between:

The COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, a national

government agency created by virtue of Republic Act No. 11364 with
principal address at 827 Aurora Blvd., Brgy. Immaculate Conception,
Quezon City, represented by its Chairman, USEC. JOSEPH B. ENCABO,
referred to as “CDA”;

-and-

NAME OF SCHOOL, a college/university organized and existing under

the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with office address at
__________________________________________________________,
and represented by its ___Position)_____, _NAME OF
REPRESENTATIVE__, hereinafter referred to as
“______________________”;

(Each, a “Party,” and collectively, the “Parties”).

WITNESSETH

WHEREAS, the CDA, being the agency in charge of the development,

registration and regulation of cooperatives under Republic (RA) Act No. 11364 is
mandated to promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments of equity,
social justice and sustainable economic development;

WHEREAS, the CDA is mandated to establish linkages with the academe and
other institutions, local and international, for education, training and research for
cooperatives (Sec. 4 (gg) of RA 11364);

WHEREAS, Section 19 of RA 11364 provides that “Sec. 19. Cooperatives in the

Education System. — The history, philosophy, concepts, values, principles and
practices of cooperatives and their role in nation building, shall be part of the curriculum
both in formal and non-formal education”;

WHEREAS, the CDA innovated a program dubbed as “CDA Laws Awareness

Program” or CLAP wherein cooperative laws, rules and regulations shall be introduced
to law students and thereafter applied by them in the conduct of their legal duties either
in the CDA or cooperatives or both;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court, as amended by

A.M. No. 19-03-24 SC, the completion of clinical legal education courses has been
declared as a prerequisite to take the Bar Examinations;

WHEREAS, the Clinical Legal Education Program is an experiential, interactive,

and reflective credit-earning teaching course with the objectives of providing law
students with practical knowledge, skills and values necessary for the application of the
law, delivery of legal services and promotion of social justice and public interest,
especially to the marginalized, while inculcating in the students the values of ethical
lawyering and public service;

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued Administrative Matter

No. 19-03-24-SC, which imposes upon all law schools of the Philippines the offering of
the CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (CLEP);

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 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 39 of the A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC or the Code of
Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA), the limited legal services
rendered by a law student practitioner under the CLEP shall be governed by CPRA;

WHEREAS, the learning activities under the CLEP shall be undertaken through
an externship program with the courts, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), and
government offices;

WHEREAS, the NAME OF SCHOOL trains future leaders in the legal profession;

WHEREAS, the parties recognize the importance of uplifting the level of

education and quality of life of the cooperative and its members and communities in
general;

WHEREAS, the NAME OF SCHOOL would like to enter into a partnership with
the CDA as part of its CLEP;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, the parties bind

themselves to become partners to establish and implement the “CDA Laws Awareness
Program (CLAP)” and the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP).

ARTICLE I
OBJECTIVES

The CLAP aims to institutionalize a partnership between the CDA and NAME OF
SCHOOL with the following objectives:

1. To promote the spirit of cooperativism and social justice.

2. To enhance learning opportunities of law students by instilling in them the value

of legal professional social responsibility, and to prepare them for the practice of
law in the cooperative sector.

3. To educate the Law Student Practitioners (LSPs) of NAME OF SCHOOLon the

substantive and procedural aspects of the Cooperative Development Authority
Charter of 2019, its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and related laws and
issuances of the CDA;

4. To provide opportunities for the CLEP of NAME OF SCHOOL to conduct

information sessions and trainings so that the officers and members of
cooperatives will know their legal rights, responsibilities, and remedies; and

5. To provide opportunities for the CLEP of NAME OF SCHOOL to render legal

services to cooperatives covering pre-registration, registration, compliance and
dispute resolution.

ARTICLE II
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTIES

SECTION 1. The CDA shall:

a. Conduct a “Getting to Know You” General Orientation on the CDA, its mandate,
organizational structure, goals, and functions;
b. Train LSPs on the substantive and procedural aspects of the CDA Charter, its
Implementing Rules and Regulations, and related laws;
c. Train LSPs on legal rights, responsibilities of, and remedies available to
cooperatives;
d. Train LSPs on pre-registration and registration procedures, compliance and
dispute resolution mechanisms available to cooperatives;

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 e. Provide LSPs with opportunities to render legal services to cooperatives in
application of the foregoing training they have received, under the supervision of
the Supervising Lawyer of CDA Region ____, Atty. ____________________;
f. The CDA shall designate _(Can be the CDA Lawyer or CDS)__ as its focal
person who will coordinate the various activities under this project, and
g. Perform other functions as may be agreed upon with the other party towards the
successful implementation of the Project.

SECTION 2. The NAME OF SCHOOL shall:

a. Deploy LSPs with Level 1 Certification and Level 2 Certification under the
Revised Student Practice Rule who will undergo the training programs mentioned
above;
b. Assist the CDA in its information dissemination efforts in promoting RA No.
11364 and RA 9520;
c. Assist the Legal Department in its functions provided that there shall not be any
conflict of interest in cases and matters handled by CLEP on behalf of
cooperatives;
d. Join other activities that will naturally deepen their understanding of RA 11364
and RA 9520 and other laws related to the promotion of the growth and viability
of cooperatives as instruments of social justice and economic development;
e. Ensure that the training program shall not be in conflict with the Lawyer-Client
relationship of CLEP and its client cooperatives;
f. Level 2 Certified LSPs shall provide legal services to client cooperatives
including documentation and court representation guided by NAME of
SCHOOL___ Supervising Lawyer in accordance with the Law Student Practice
Rule under Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court, provided that client selection and
case management strategies shall be under the sole discretion of the CDA;
g. The NAME OF SCHOOL shall designate Atty.__________________ as the
acting Supervising Lawyer of the School;
h. The NAME OF SCHOOL shall designate _(the Supervising Lawyer can be the
focal person)_ as its focal person who will coordinate the various activities under
this project; and
i. Perform other functions as may be agreed upon with the other party towards the
successful implementation of the Project.

Section 3. JOINT OBLIGATIONS

a. Periodically review and evaluate the implementation of this Agreement with the
end in view of strengthening the partnership.
b. Mutually craft plans and activities to implement this Agreement.

ARTICLE III
EXTERNSHIP

Section 1. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS OF LAW STUDENT PRACTITIONERS.

No law student shall be permitted to engage in any of the activities under the Clinical
Legal Education Program of a law school unless the law student has applied for and
secured the following certifications:

(a) Level 1 certification, for law students who have successfully completed their
first-year law courses; and/ or
(b) Level 2 certification, for law students currently enrolled for the second
semester of their third-year law courses: Provided however, where a

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 student fails to complete all their third-year law courses, the Level 2
certification shall be deemed automatically revoked.

Section 2. SUPERVISING LAWYERS.

For purposes of this agreement, supervising lawyers of student practitioners under the
externship program assigned or rotated in the CDA Regional Office _________ shall be
the legal officer of CDA and the Lawyer/Instructor duly assigned by the School for such
purpose and shall hereinafter be referred to as Supervising Lawyers.

Section 3. PRACTICE AREAS OF LAW STUDENT PRACTITIONERS WITHIN THE

________________.

Subject to the supervision of the above-mentioned supervising lawyers, law student

practitioners may:

For Level 1 Certification:

(1) Interview prospective clients;

(2) Give legal advice to the client;
(3) Negotiate for and on behalf of the client;
(4) Draft legal documents such as affidavits, compromise agreements,
contracts, demand letter, position papers, and the like;
(5) Represent eligible parties before quasi-judicial or administrative bodies;
(6) Provide public legal orientation; and
(7) Assist in public interest advocacies for policy formulation and
implementation.

For Level 2 Certification:

(1) Perform all activities under Level 1 Certification;

(2) Assist in the taking of depositions and/or preparing judicial affidavits of
witnesses;
(3) Appear on behalf of the client at any stage of the proceedings or trial,
before any court, quasi-judicial or administrative body;
(4) In criminal cases, subject to the provisions of Section 5, Rule 110 of the
Rules of Court, to appear on behalf of a government agency in the
prosecution of criminal actions; and
(5) In appealed cases, to prepare the pleadings required in the case.

Section 4: DUTIES OF SUPERVISING LAWYERS.

As embodied in Section 11 of A.M. No. 19-03-24 SC, the following shall be the duties of
supervising lawyers:

(a) Supervise such number of certified law student practitioners as far as

practicable;

(b) Personally appear with the law student practitioner in selected cases
pending before the second-level courts and in all other cases the
supervising lawyer determines that his or her presence is required;

(c) Assume personal professional responsibility for any work performed

by the certified law student practitioner while under his or her
supervision;

(d) Assist and advise the certified law student practitioner in the activities
authorized by these rules and review such activities with the certified
law student practitioner, all to the extent required for the proper
practical training of the certified law student practitioner and the
protection of the client;

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 (e) Read, approve, and personally sign any pleadings, briefs or other
similar documents prepared by the certified law student practitioner
prior to the filing thereof;

(f) Provide the level of supervision to the certified law student

practitioner required by these rules.

Section 5. AREA OF ASSIGNMENT OF STUDENT PRACTITIONERS.

The Student Practitioners shall only be assigned at the _________________, always

with and upon the supervision and company of the supervising lawyers and his/her/their
authorized representatives. Given the current restrictions on movement of persons
implemented by the government to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the parties may
agree on conducting the externship activities online.

Section 6. OFFICIAL LIST OF CERTIFIED STUDENT PRACTITIONERS.

Prior to the externship proper, the NAME OF SCHOOL shall submit to the CDA
Regional Office _______ the official list of certified student practitioners who have
complied with the requirements of the A.M. No. 19-03-24-SC.

Section 7. LIMIT OF NUMBER OF STUDENT PRACTITIONERS IN THE CDA

REGIONAL OFFICE _____.

The number of students assigned in the CDA REGIONAL OFFICE _____ shall be
limited to ____________ for every weekly rotation;

Section 8. HOURS OF EXTERNSHIP.

The total hours of externship at the CDA Regional Office _____ in a semester shall be
_(as may be agreed upon by the school and CDA)__ (hours) per week. The number of
hours spent for online externship activities, if agreed upon, shall be equivalent to the
hours spent for in-person or face-to-face externship activities.

Section 9. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION.

Upon completion of the externship program, the Supervising Lawyers of the CDA
Regional Office __________ shall issue a certificate of completion to the law student
practitioners attesting to the fact of them having satisfactorily completed their externship
therewith.

Section 10. EVALUATION OF STUDENT PRACTITIONERS.

The LSPs can be evaluated based on their delivery of assigned tasks and through oral
and/or written examinations or such methodology as may be employed by the NAME
OF SCHOOL pursuant to their curriculum if such evaluation is required for the program.
The CDA Supervising Lawyer shall provide the necessary input or information to the
school with regards to the performance of the LSPs as may be requested by the School.

Section 11. SUSPENSION OF EXTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES.

The activities for externship may be suspended upon notice to the CDA Regional Office
_____ on the following grounds/ occasions:

a. Official school activities, such as but not limited to foundation days

celebration, sports festivities, and student government elections;
b. Suspension upon the order of the local chief executive or National
Government;
c. Other just and lawful grounds.

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Section 12. RELATIONSHIP.

Nothing in this Agreement shall establish an employer-employee relationship between

the CDA Regional Office ____ and the student practitioners of the NAME OF SCHOOL.

ARTICLE IV
CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA SHARING

In the implementation and performance of their obligations under this MOA, the
Parties shall:

a. Ensure privacy and security of any and all confidential, privileged, personal
and/or sensitive information that the parties and their officers, employees, or
agents may have access to; and

b. Store, process, use and dispose of such information in accordance with Republic
Act No. 10173 or the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”, and applicable National Privacy
Commission issuances.

In case of dispute, controversies or claims arising in relation to the confidentiality

and data sharing clause, the Parties agree to freely and voluntarily submit themselves
to necessary consultation and mediation for purposes of amicable settlement.

The Parties agree that a data subject shall have the right to enforce his or her
rights as stipulated in Republic.Act No. 10173 against any of the Parties, for the
respective breach of their obligations, with regard to the data subject's personal
data/information. The Parties agree to respond to generally available non-binding
mediation procedure initiated by a data subject. If they do participate in the
proceedings, the Parties may elect to do so remotely (i.e. by telephone or other
electronic means). The Parties also agree to consider participating in any other
arbitration, mediation or other dispute resolution proceeding for data protection disputes
prescribed by the National Privacy Commission.

If a Party is compelled by law to disclose any personal data outside of this MOA,
it shall notify the other Party of such fact one (1) month before disclosing the personal
data.

In case of a personal data breach, the Party to which the breach happened takes
responsibility in the implementation of the necessary breach reporting procedure, but
the other Party shall cooperate therefore and for the mitigation of further damage.

As legal counsel of the cooperatives, NAME OF SCHOOL/LSP is bound by its

obligations under the attorney-client relationship and will not be under any obligation to
report to the CDA.

ARTICLE V
DURATION

This AGREEMENT shall be effective for the duration of the 202__-202_

Academic Year or One (1) Academic Year. Subject to the agreement of both parties, the
MOA may be renewed at least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the next
academic year.

This Agreement may be voluntarily terminated by either parties upon written

notice to the other within thirty (30) days prior the date of termination on any of the
following grounds:

a. Upon expiration of the term hereof without the same having been
renewed;

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 b. Breach of any of the terms herein set forth;
c. Upon the order of the Supreme Court and/or the Legal Education Board.

ARTICLE VI
DISPUTE RESOLUTION

In case of conflict between or among the Parties arising from this MOA, except
for the application of Article III, all Parties agree to freely and voluntarily submit
themselves to necessary consultation and mediation for purposes of amicable
settlement. In the event that the Parties fail to reach an amicable settlement of their
dispute, the Parties hereby agree to submit themselves to arbitration under Philippine
jurisdiction, in accordance with Republic Act No. 876 or the “Arbitration Law,” and
Republic Act No. 9285 or the “Alternative Dispute Resolution Act,” as may be
applicable.

ARTICLE VII
AMENDMENT

The parties, as the need arises, and upon mutual consent, may amend this
agreement by an addendum duly signed by them and notarized by a notary public.

ARTICLE VIII
EFFECTIVITY

This Agreement shall take effect upon signing hereof by the parties and shall
remain valid and binding pursuant to Article IV, unless earlier terminated by mutual
written agreement.

In case of early termination, the party initiating the termination shall notify the
other party at least one (1) month prior to the date of the effectivity of termination
without prejudice to the obligations already incurred. Activities that take time to finish
and have already been commenced shall continue until conclusion with due
consideration to the effectivity of the termination as herein contemplated.

Termination of this agreement does not terminate the Lawyer-Client relationship

between NAME OF SCHOOL/LSP and the client cooperatives.

ARTICLE IX
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 1. WAIVER. Failure by either party to insist upon the other the strict
performance of any of the terms and conditions hereof shall not be deemed a
relinquishment or waiver of any subsequent breach or default of the terms and
conditions hereof, which can only be deemed made if expressed in writing and signed
by its duly authorized representative. No such waiver shall be construed as modification
of any of the provisions of this MOA or as a waiver of any past or future default or
breach hereof, except as expressly stated in such waiver.

Section 2. FORCE MAJEURE. Neither party shall be liable for any delay or
failure to perform its obligations pursuant to this MOA if such delay is due to force
majeure. Force Majeure shall mean events beyond the control of and affecting either
party which cannot be foreseen or if foreseeable cannot be either prevented nor
avoided despite the exercise of due diligence.

Section 3. SEPARABILITY. If any one or more of the provisions contained in

this MOA or any document executed in connection herewith shall be invalid, illegal or
unenforceable in any respect under any applicable law, then: (i) the validity, legality and
enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein or therein shall not in any

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way be affected or impaired and shall remain in full force and effect; and (ii) the invalid,
illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by the parties immediately with a
term or provision that is valid, legal and enforceable and that comes closest to
expressing the intention of such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto signed this Agreement this
day of , 202__ at ___________, Philippines.

COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

By:

USEC. JOSEPH B. ENCABO

Chairman

NAME OF SCHOOL

By:

NAME
Position

WITNESSES:

NAME
Position, Name of School

NAME OF RD
Regional Director
CDA Region ____Extension Office

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)

City of ) S.S.

BEFORE ME, a Notary Public, in and for the above jurisdiction, personally
appeared the following persons who exhibited to me their proof of identification as
follows:

Name Proof of Identification Date and Place Issued

1.
2.

All known to me and to me known to be the same persons who executed the
foregoing instrument and acknowledged to me that the same are their own free will and
voluntary act and deed and that of the agency or organization they represent. This
document refers to a Memorandum of Agreement consisting of ______(___) pages
including the page where the acknowledgement is written and signed by the parties and
their instrumental witnesses on each and every page hereof.

WITNESS MY HAND AND SEAL this day of , 202__ at

, Philippines.

Notary Public

Doc. No.
Page No.
Book No.
Series of 202__.