Enrile bill to provide PAO autonomy from DOJ - Malaya 09.23.3006
SEN. Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday said the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) should be extricated from the clutches of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and be reborn as an "independent" and "autonomous" government agency to effectively deliver justice to marginalized clients.
And he has filed a bill to do just that.
The PAO, which provides free legal assistance to poor clients, is presently under the DOJ, which, in turn, is the legal counsel and prosecution arm of the government.
"The Secretary of Justice cannot wear two hats at the same time. With this kind of set-up, due process can never be genuinely served for as long as the prosecution and defense are housed in the same department, reporting to the same superior," Enrile said.
Enrile said PAO should be allowed to morph into an independent and autonomous legal institution to avoid suspicion of colluding with or being influenced by the DOJ. "By representing poor litigants, public service is rendered, justice is equally dispensed, their rights are protected and in terms of representation, party litigants are placed on equal footing," he said.
Enrile said PAO as a separate agency can take an independent legal position against any party in upholding its clients’ rights. "It would mean greater flexibility in the performance of its avowed legal mandate – to give life and meaning to the principles of justice, right to due process, and equal protection and access to law," he said.
Senators Panfilo Lacson and Ralph Recto had earlier batted for additional allowances for PAO lawyers "to make sure they do their jobs more effectively."
"For the past several years, the PAO has suffered from lack of personnel and lack of financial and logistical support to handle the mounting criminal cases involving poor litigants," Lacson said.
Recto said 1,016 lawyers of the Public Attorney’s Office served 4,379, 850 mostly poor clients in 2005.
He said the fiscal turnaround should result in the grant of special allowances to PAO lawyers "to prevent the fast turnover of PAO lawyers and their mass migration to lucrative private practice."
He said an increase in compensation must be prioritized when pay hikes are made to government employes. Most PAO lawyers do not even clear P20,000 a month in salaries. – Dennis Gadil
And he has filed a bill to do just that.
The PAO, which provides free legal assistance to poor clients, is presently under the DOJ, which, in turn, is the legal counsel and prosecution arm of the government.
"The Secretary of Justice cannot wear two hats at the same time. With this kind of set-up, due process can never be genuinely served for as long as the prosecution and defense are housed in the same department, reporting to the same superior," Enrile said.
Enrile said PAO should be allowed to morph into an independent and autonomous legal institution to avoid suspicion of colluding with or being influenced by the DOJ. "By representing poor litigants, public service is rendered, justice is equally dispensed, their rights are protected and in terms of representation, party litigants are placed on equal footing," he said.
Enrile said PAO as a separate agency can take an independent legal position against any party in upholding its clients’ rights. "It would mean greater flexibility in the performance of its avowed legal mandate – to give life and meaning to the principles of justice, right to due process, and equal protection and access to law," he said.
Senators Panfilo Lacson and Ralph Recto had earlier batted for additional allowances for PAO lawyers "to make sure they do their jobs more effectively."
"For the past several years, the PAO has suffered from lack of personnel and lack of financial and logistical support to handle the mounting criminal cases involving poor litigants," Lacson said.
Recto said 1,016 lawyers of the Public Attorney’s Office served 4,379, 850 mostly poor clients in 2005.
He said the fiscal turnaround should result in the grant of special allowances to PAO lawyers "to prevent the fast turnover of PAO lawyers and their mass migration to lucrative private practice."
He said an increase in compensation must be prioritized when pay hikes are made to government employes. Most PAO lawyers do not even clear P20,000 a month in salaries. – Dennis Gadil
posted by brodkaster43 at Sabado, Setyembre 23, 2006
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