ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ATTORNEY’S OFFICEs_Office... · 2020. 2. 4. · 2013 PAO...

of 42 2013 PAO Accomplishment Report

ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

FOR THE YEAR 2013

Prefatory Statement

Amidst the different challenges that the Philippines is facing

today, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has remained steadfast in

responding to the ever-growing legal needs of the Filipino people.

Included in its services are not only the indigent but also other

qualified persons pursuant to its enabling law, Republic Act No.

9406. As an advocate of the less fortunate members of society, its

2013 accomplishments show how committed the PAO is in complying

with its mandated duties, existing for its mission to provide the

indigent litigants, the oppressed, the marginalized and the

underprivileged members of the society free access to courts, judicial

and quasi-judicial agencies, by rendering legal services, counselling

and assistance. Unperturbed by different obstacles, the PAO forged

on to accomplish the said achievements.

These accomplishments are the humble contributions of the

principal legal aid office of the government to the rule of law, access

to justice, and governance framework, strategies and principles of H.

E. President Benigno S. Aquino III’s Philippine Development Plan

(PDP) 2011-2016. Albeit the volume of cases being handled by public

attorneys, especially in criminal cases, they remained faithful in the

performance of their sworn obligation, doing their best in the highest

interest of public service. Its high favorable disposition rate in

criminal cases speaks of the efforts and hard work of every public

attorney in assisting its clients. From now on, our countrymen can be

assured that if time comes that they encountered a legal problem,

the finest lawyers who happen to be members of the PAO will assist

Republika ng Pilipinas

Kagawaran ng Katarungan

Tanggapan ng ManananggolPambayan

(PUBLIC ATTORNEY’S OFFICE)

DOJ AgenciesBuilding, NIA Rd. cor. East Ave. 1104 Diliman, Quezon City Telephone Nos. 929-90-10/929-94-36; Fax No. 927-68-10


them in ensuring that their constitutional and statutory rights will

be protected.

The programs of the PAO for its clients, such as legal

representation and assistance, counselling, administering of oaths,

mediation and conciliation, documentation, barangay outreach,

assistance during inquest investigation and custodial interrogation,

jail visitation, etc., have been strengthened in order to cope up with

the legal needs of its qualified clients. The remarkable increase with

the number of clients assisted confirms the trust of the Filipino

people to one of the frontline agencies of the government. Indeed,

PAO has been a gauge of excellent public service.

The number of clients assisted shows that every single cent

allotted to the PAO was not put into waste. It can assure the Filipino

people that once it needs the services of a lawyer, and provided that

they are qualified to avail its free legal services, PAO will always be

there to extend its helping hand. They can always call its 24/7

hotline if they need legal assistance and PAO can guarantee that a

public attorney is always available to respond to their legal queries

during his/her scheduled duty.

The Public Attorney’s Office, through the leadership of its Chief

Public Attorney, vows to the Filipino people that it will remain

compliant with the mandate of the law and the directive of the

President for every government agencies to render exemplary

service. Not asking for anything in return, all recognitions and

awards received by the PAO and its Chief Public Attorney are being

dedicated to the Filipino people who have given their trust to this

Office.

I. THE OFFICE

Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9406, entitled “An Act Reorganizing

and Strengthening the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO)” established

the PAO as an independent and autonomous Office attached to the

Department of Justice only for the purpose of policy and program

coordination. It gave the PAO an expanded mandate which is to


provide free legal services and assistance to indigent clients, other

qualified persons and in the exigency of the service, when called

upon by proper government authorities to render such service to

other persons, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations, in all

criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases.

Its Central Office is located at the DOJ Agencies Building, NIA Road

corner East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. The regional and

district/sub-district offices, on the other hand, are strategically

located nationwide responding to indigent clients from 80 provinces,

143 cities, 1,491 municipalities and 42,028 barangays1 which are in

dire need of legal assistance.

Currently, the PAO has 17 regional offices and 288 district

and 5 sub-district offices. Most of the offices are situated at the

Halls of Justice nationwide along with the courts and other offices

involved in the administration of justice. However, some district

offices are housed at rented office spaces like the PAO-Manila

District Office, etc.

II. PAO LAWYERS, THE REGIONAL AND DISTRICT OFFICES, AND THE COURTS

Despite the high turn-over rate of PAO lawyers, primarily due

to resignation to engage in private law practice, transfer to the

National Prosecution Service (NAPROSS), to the judiciary, to other

government owned and controlled corporations, and heavy workload,

among others, the PAO has a total of 1,525 public attorneys, who

actively handle criminal and civil cases before 2,214 courts

nationwide. About 62 of them devote themselves to appealed cases

before the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court and the Office of the

President. However, the handling of criminal and civil cases and

representation of clients in courts as above-stated is only a portion of

the public attorneys’ functions. They also appear in and handle

administrative and labor cases, the so-called quasi-judicial cases, and

such other limited and special cases and services as shown hereafter.

1http://www.dilg.gov.ph/facts_and_figures.php

http://www.dilg.gov.ph/facts_and_figures.php


Below is a table indicating the number of existing offices and

assigned lawyers in each region as follows:

REGION DISTRICT / SUB-

DISTRICT OFFICES

NUMBER OF

PUBLIC

ATTORNEYS

Central Office 102

National Capital Region 16 276

Cordillera

Administrative Region 13 / 2 sub-district 49

Region I

Ilocos Region 21 86

Region II

Cagayan Valley 15 65

Region III

Central Luzon 27 / 1 annex 95

Region IV-A

CALABARZON 34 116

Region IV-B

MIMAROPA 12 44

Region V

Bicol Region 20 64

Region VI

Eastern Visayas 18 113

Region VII

Central Visayas 21 / 1 RSACU 87

Region VIII

Western Visayas 24 88

Region IX-A

ARMM 3 / 1 sub-district 32

Region IX-B

Zamboanga Peninsula 14 / 1 satellite office 58

Region X

Northern Mindanao 17 / 2 (1 RSACU) 86

Region XI

Davao Region 11 59


Region XII

SOCCSKSARGEN 11 61

Region XIII

CARAGA 11 44

TOTAL 314 1,525

The establishment of district offices in different regions of the

country complements the agency’s mission to provide litigants free

access to courts, judicial and quasi-judicial agencies by rendering

legal assistance. The PAO envisions the establishment of adequate

district offices to enhance the accessibility of services of the PAO,

such that justice could efficiently be delivered despite geographical

fragmentation.

III. SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

A. CLIENTS ASSISTED AND CASES HANDLED

The statistical figures below show the total number of

indigent clients assisted and the total number of cases (judicial

and quasi-judicial) handled by the PAO and its proportionate

relation to the 1,525 lawyers for the period covering January to

December, 2013.

Total No. of Clients Assisted 7,126,565

Total No. of Cases Handled 746,161

Average No. of Clients Assisted by Each Lawyer 4,748

Average No. of Cases Handled by Each Lawyer 497

B. MAJOR FINAL OUTPUT AND PERFORMANCE INDCATORS

In order to fully monitor the effective implementation of its

services and to obtain the feedbacks of its qualified clients, PAO’s

performance indicators were refined / enhanced to include the

determination of the timeliness and quality of its services, instead of

just focusing on quantity.


For year 2013, the implementation of the new indicators

yielded positive results, to wit:

Major Final Output: Free Legal Services to Indigent Clients and

Other Qualified Persons.

PERFORMANCE

INDICATORS TARGETS

2013

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

PI Set 1: *Number of cases under

management.

*Percentage of cases with

favorable judgment.

*Percentage of requests

for legal

assistance/representatio

n acted upon within

three working days from

the date of request.

*Percentage of hearings

for which postponement

is sought by the PAO

legal representative.

745,980

64.5%

92%

1%

746,161

65.99%

100%

0.04%

PI Set 2: *Number of clients

served (non-judicial).

*Number of legal

advisories / counseling

provided.

*Percentage of clients

who rated the legal

services of PAO as

satisfactory or better.

*Percentage of requests

for assistance that are

acted upon within two

hours.

4,631,097

1,731,554

88%

96%

4,648,422

1,731,982

99.84%

100%

C. ACQUITTALS AND OTHER FAVORABLE DISPOSITIONS

In spite of their overwhelming case loads and the number of

clients assisted, the public attorneys ably represented indigent accused

in court and facilitated the release and favorable disposition of cases of

indigent clients of PAO.


The graph above shows that for the year 2013, 154,086 criminal

cases were favorably disposed of, by acquittals, dismissal or for some

other reasons.

D. WINNING AND APPEALED CASES

Out of 1,525 lawyers of the PAO, there are about 62 of them

who attend to appealed cases in the PAO-Central Office and the

Regional Special and Appealed Cases Unit (RSACU)-Visayas and

Mindanao, particularly those pending before the Court of Appeals,

the Supreme Court and the Office of the President. For criminal

cases alone, a total of 261 favorable decisions were obtained for

the period covering January to December 2013 by the PAO –


Special and Appealed Cases Service (SACS). The table below shows

the breakdown of figures, to wit:

Acquittals from Reclusion Temporal 82

Acquittals from Reclusion Perpetua 89

TOTAL 171

Aside from criminal cases, the SACS and RSACU-Visayas and

Mindanao also handle civil and special cases such as appeals from

the decision of NLRC, SSS and GSIS. In those cases handled, a total

of 262 favorable dispositions were obtained by PAO-SACS from

January to December 2013.

E. JAIL VISITATION AND DECONGESTION PROGRAM

Regular Monthly Jail Visitation of District Offices Nationwide:

No. of Inmates / Detainees

Monthly Jail Visitation of

District Offices

Nationwide

Interviewed & Assisted 252,043

Provided Legal

Representation in Court 244,317

Released 25,481

This outreach program for inmates has been intensified by the

PAO-Central Office Legal, Medical, Dental and Optical Jail Visitation

Program which is being personally led by the Chief Public Attorney.

This program was started in 2007 and is being continuously conducted

in various jails in the Philippines. The table below shows the output of

the project for the period covering January to December 2013, to wit:


VISITED JAIL DATE LEG

NO. OF

BENEFICIARIES

FOR LEGAL

ASSISTANCE

(ADVICE)

NO. OF

BENEFICIARIES

FOR MEDICAL

ASSISTANCE

NO. OF

BENEFICIARIES

FOR DENTAL/

OPTICAL*

ASSISTANCE

TOTAL NO.

OF INMATES

RELEASED

1 Makati City Jail February

11, 2013 1ST

40 108 33

A total of

4,813

inmates

released

from various

jails in Metro

Manila

visited by

the PAO-

Central

Office and

followed up

by the field

offices.

2 Quezon City Jail

(Male) 76 271 49

3 Caloocan City Jail February

12, 2012 2ND

110 271 46

4 Malabon City Jail 75 206 52

5

Maximum

Security

Compound March 8,

2013 3RD

52 97 n/a

6 Medium Security

Compound 61 110 n/a

7 Manila City Jail

(Male) July 1,

2013 4TH

208 262 49

86*

8 Manila City Jail

(Female) 196 173

30

99*

9 Youth Offenders 130 64 49

10

Maximum

Security

Compound

August 12,

2013 5TH 50 201

46

154*

11 Medium Security

Compound

August 12,

2013 5TH 59 108

13

70*

12 Female

Dormitory August 16,

2013 6TH

65 184 38

13 Quezon City Jail 85 184 24

14

Correctional

Institution for

Women August 22,

2013 7TH 34 221

18

81*

15 Mandaluyong

City Jail

53

99*

16 Makati City Jail September

6, 2013 8TH

45 81 26

17 Pasay City Jail 156 153 55

18

Correctional

Institution for

Women December

11, 2013 9TH

74 247 49

176*

19 Mandaluyong

City Jail 35 98

19

87*

20

Maximum

Security

Compound

December

20, 2013 10TH 42 154

11

105*

TOTAL 1,593 3,193 660

957* 4,813

F. LEGAL/INQUEST PROCEEDINGS ASSISTANCE

On their scheduled duties, the public attorneys and staff of the

PAO-Central Office have been alternately providing legal and

inquest proceedings assistance even during night time, weekends

and holidays since October 2009. For this purpose, the PAO hotline,

929-9436 (local 106 or 107 during office hours and local 159 after

office hours) is open to the public 24/7.


In September 2010, the coverage of this program was widened

for the benefit of the people that are being served by the regional and

district offices of the PAO nationwide. Since then, the said offices

have been rendering legal assistance (e.g. legal advice, attending to

the legal needs of suspects in the police stations within the territorial

jurisdiction of the concerned PAO regional/district offices) up to 10:00

p.m. everyday (including weekends and Holidays) but the assigned

PAO inquest public attorneys and staff therein remain on call after

10:00 p.m. during their respective scheduled duties whenever there

is an inquest in the said police stations.

A total of 26,841 clients benefited from the services provided

by the PAO consisting of inquest assistance, legal advice/counseling

and documentation at the above duty stations covering the period


IV. CASE LOAD STATISTICAL REPORT AND ACCOMPLISHMENT

A. RENDITION OF JUDICIAL SERVICES

1. REGULAR SERVICES

a) CRIMINAL CASES

From January to December, 2013, the PAO handled a total of

416,568 criminal cases; of this total, 133,511 are newly received

cases and 283,057 are carry-over from the previous year.

Target


Out of the 206,127 terminated criminal cases from January to

December 2013, 152,452 cases or about 73.96% thereof were

favorably disposed by the respective Public Attorneys assigned to

handle the same.

b) CIVIL CASES

For the year 2013, the office has handled a total of 46,919 civil cases

consisting of newly received and carry-over cases. During the same period, a total

of 27,391 were terminated.

Target

Target


c) ADMINISTRATITVE CASES PROPER

The PAO handled a total of 11,891 administrative cases

consisting of 7,616 carry-over cases and 4,275 newly received cases

from January to December, 2013. A total of 6,381 cases were

terminated.

d) PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE CASES

For the year 2013, the office handled a total of 61,583

cases at the Prosecutor’s level, 22,720 of which are newly received

Target

Target


and 38,863 are carried over from the previous year. Out of the said

total number of cases, 21,943 were terminated.

e) LABOR CASES

In Labor cases, the PAO was able to handle a total of 81,234

complaints from January to December, 2013, 43,054 of which were

disposed of.

2. LIMITED SERVICES

Target

*Total number of accused assisted – 1,125,998*


The office has extended limited services to accused in criminal

cases on arraignment, pre-trial, promulgation of sentence only and in

other stages of the case. It assisted a total of 1,125,998 accused from


3. SPECIAL LEGAL SERVICES (Pursuant to Sec 14-A of

R.A. 9406 and MOAs)

From January to December, 2013, the PAO served a total of

20,644 clients under Special Legal Services.

"SEC. 14-A Powers and Functions. - The PAO shall

independently discharge its mandate to render, free of

charge, legal representation, assistance, and

counselling to indigent persons in criminal, civil,

labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases.

In the exigency of the service, the PAO may be called

upon by proper government authorities to render such

service to other persons, subject to existing laws, rules

and regulations."

B. RENDITION OF QUASI-JUDICIAL SERVICES

1. MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION

Target


The office also renders mediation and conciliation services as

part of its quasi-judicial function. For the period covering January to

December 2013, it handled a total of 449,611 disputes and resolved a

total of 333,630 thereof.

2. INVESTIGATION (R.A. 9745 or Anti-Torture Law)

For the year 2013, the PAO conducted a total of 82

investigations of cases involving torture.

“Section 11. Assistance in Filing a Complaint. - The

CHR and the PAO shall render legal assistance in the

investigation and monitoring and/or filing of the

complaint for a person who suffers torture and other

cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or

punishment, or for any interested party thereto.”

C. RENDITION OF NON-JUDICIAL SERVICES

1. INSTANT / OUTREACH SERVICES

The office has rendered instant / outreach services to 3,991,297

clients such as legal documentation, counseling and administering

of oaths for the period covering January to December 2013.


2. INQUEST ACTIVITIES

From January to December 2013, the PAO assisted a total of

137,686 clients during inquest investigations

3. BARANGAY LEGAL OUTREACH AND VISITATION

In the barangay outreach activities conducted by the office from

January to December 2013, it assisted a total of 148,215 clients.

WOMEN CLIENTS

AND CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW

Under Republic Act No. 9262 (R.A. No. 9262), otherwise known

as the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act and

Republic Act No. 9344 (R.A. No. 9344), otherwise known as the

Juvenile Justice and Welfare System Act, as well as the subsequent

pertinent issuances, the PAO is specifically mandated by the law to

extend legal assistance to women and their children who are victims

of violence and to facilitate the release and proper disposition of

Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL), particularly those who


were fifteen years old or below at the time of the alleged commission

of the crime.

To this mandated task, the PAO is continuously giving special

attention to the cause of women and children in so far as the

criminal justice system is concerned.

The graphs above show the number of women and children

assisted by the PAO for the year 2013. From January to December,

2013, the office handled a total of 58,198 and 34,631 cases involving

women and CICL, respectively.

Target Target


The graphs above show that from January to December 2013, a

total of 46,168 and 14,777 cases were terminated involving women

and CICL, respectively.

It is humbly submitted that the above data manifest and

indicate the continuous trust and faith of the people in the

performance of the agency.

It is viewed that when the agency performs its duties and

responsibilities with the highest standard of efficiency and

dedication, it gives its humble share in converting and transforming

public apathy and chaos into trust and faith to the criminal justice

system and ultimately to the entire administration.

V.THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF PUBLIC ATTORNEY

A. The Office of the Chief Public Attorney received/answered

58,684 communications from January to December, 2013. The

breakdown is as follows:

I. Communications to / from CPA Rueda-Acosta

Total No. of

Communications 58,684

A. Communications from Executive Division 17,674

1. Appointments 946

2. Memoranda 534

3. Memorandum Orders 376

4. Memorandum Circulars 1

5. Office Orders 165

6. Reassignment Orders 43

7. Travel Orders 27

8. Special Orders 2

9. Other Communications

9.1. Signed by CPA 367

9.2. Signed by Executive Lawyers 15,213

B. Communications from Other Services 3,193

1. Administrative Service 2,040

2. Legal Research Service 319

3. Field Operations and Statistics Service 330

4. Financial Planning and Management Service 88

5. Special and Appealed Cases Service 416

C. Communications from Regional Offices 6,611

1. Region I 296


2. Region II 216

3. Region III 827

4. Region IV 1,041

5. Region V 460

6. Region VI 441

7. Region VII 324

8. Region VIII 301

9. Region IX / ARMM 275

10. Region X 232

11. Region XI 218

12. Region XII 203

13. CARAGA 156

14. CAR 296

15. NCR 1,325

D. Communications from OP, OVP, Senate & HOR 333

E. Communications from Other Offices 25,271

1. Department of Justice 543

2. Supreme Court 2,832

3. Court of Appeals 14,109

4. National Labor Relations Commission 1,865

5. Other Communications 5,692

6. Applicants 230

F. Publications 749

1. “Say Mo Attorney?”, People’s Tonight 32

2. “Dear PAO,” Manila Times 377

3. “Magtanongkay Attorney,” Bulgar 340

G. EMAILS 4,853

1. Legal Assistance 2,582

2. Monthly Reports 1,958

3. Applicants 26

4. Other emails 287

B. The Office of the Chief Public Attorney served 19,681 clients

during this period.

C. The Chief Public Attorney served as resource person in the

following events:

1. Keynote Speaker, 8th National Convention of Solemnizing

Officers, August 6, 2013, SMX Convention Center, Davao City;

2. Speaker, 6th Student Advertising Congress (Theme:

Mediamorphosis: Are We Ready for the Ad and Media

Transformation?), March 4, 2013, 1 Esplanade, Diokno Drive,

Pasay City;


3. Guest of Honor/Speaker, The Forum 2013: Responding to

Modern Day Issues by Exploring the Legal Profession,

delivered a presentation on the “Alternative Dispute

Resolution in the Philippines” on February 28, 2013 at De La

Salle, Lipa City.

D. The Chief Public Attorney personally handled and/or led the

following cases and/or rendered legal assistance to the

following individuals, to wit:

1. Dominga Cadelina, client of the Public Attorney’s Office,

was the house helper for ten years of Janet Lim-Napoles. She

was charged with qualified theft by Jaime Napoles and

Reynold Lim, the latter’s husband and brother, respectively.

While her case was being heard, Cadelina was detained at the

Makati City Jail for almost eight months.

The PAO, led by Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta filed a

Demurer to Evidence seeking the dismissal of the case. On

October 4, 2013, Judge Carlito Calpatura of the Makati

Regional Trial Court Branch 145 dismissed the qualified theft

case against Cadelina for insufficiency of evidence.

2. Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta successfully sought the

quashal/dismissal of the Information filed against OFW

Hedelito Trinidad, which indicted him in a Kidnapping for

Ransom case and Violation of Anti-Carnapping Act.

On June 18, 2013, the Public Attorney’s Office received

the Order granting the Motion to Quash/Dismiss filed by Chief

Acosta relative to Mr. Trinidad’s case (People of the

Philippines vs. Rolando Lumbres Fajardo et al.) as against a

certain Eddie Trinidad. Supporting his motion, Hedelito

Trinidad argued that he is not the Eddie Trinidad who is

accused in the said case and there is no probable cause to

indict him. The mentioned Order, dated May 30, 2013, was

issued by Hon. Eduardo Israel Tanguanco, Executive Judge of

Regional Trial Court-Branch 89, City of Bacoor.


3. Through a Court Order dated February 4, 2013, Hon.

Feliciano Aguilar, Presiding Judge of RTC-Branch 41 in

Gandara, Samar, ordered the release of political prisoner,

Ericson Acosta, from the custody of Bureau of Jail

Management and Penology (BJMP), Quezon City, and

dismissed the Information filed against him.

This was in connection with the Department of Justice

(DOJ) Resolution, dated January 31, 2013, stating that there

is no probable cause for the crime of Illegal Possession of

Explosives as charged, and the Motion to Withdraw

Information filed by the Provincial Prosecution Office,

Calbayog City, praying for the withdrawal/dismissal of the

Information.

In consonance with the request for legal assistance of Ms.

Kerima T. Acosta, wife of the said political prisoner, the PAO

rendered provisional assistance in favor of the latter. The

antecedent events constituting the efforts of the PAO which

contributed to the subsequent release of Mr. Acosta are stated

below:

a) The PAO filed a Manifestation Cum Compliance on

January 17, 2013, seeking for the release of Mr. Acosta for

the purpose of undergoing medical check-up, confinement

and treatment at the National Kidney and Transplant

Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City. Hon. Judge Feliciano P.

Aguilar of the Regional Trial Court of Gandara, Samar,

Branch 41, granted the said motion on the same day.

b) Upon further motion by the PAO, Judge Aguilar

allowed Jail Officer Jesus Ostulano, who was initially

ordered to escort Mr. Acosta to the NKTI, to be substituted

by two (2) jail offers from the BJMP. The said Order, dated

January 21, 2013, was issued to address the lack of

manpower in the Samar Sub-Provincial Jail and the

immediate need for Jail Officer Ostulano to report back to

the said facility.


c) In view of the foregoing (subparagraphs a & b), the

PAO, through a letter dated January 23, 2013, most

respectfully requested the Department of Justice

Secretary, the Honorable Leila M. De Lima, to immediately

resolve the Petition for Review filed by Mr. Acosta at the

DOJ sometime in 2011.

4. The 71 civil cases filed by the Public Attorney’s Office

(PAO) against Sulpicio Lines, Inc. (SLI) on behalf of the

victims of the M/V Princess of the Stars maritime tragedy, are

on continuous trial at RTC-Branch 49, Manila; same with the

64 civil cases filed against SLI at RTC-Branch 10, Cebu City.

The criminal case for Reckless Imprudence that is pending

before RTC-Branch 5, Manila is undergoing trial and

currently the subject of a Motion for Reconsideration before

the Court of Appeals.

E. The Chief Public Attorney received the following prestigious

awards and fellowship, to wit:

1. 2013 Most Outstanding Filipino Woman in the Field

of Legal Jurisprudence for Public Good from the Gawad

Amerika Foundation, given during the 12th Annual Gawad

Amerika Awards Night, November 9, 2013, Celebrity Center,

Hollywood, California;

2. Outstanding Public Servant Award in Legal

Assistance from COMGUILD, conferred during the 6th

Annual Conference of Criminology and Political Science

Students of the Philippines on September 29, 2013 at the AFP

Theater, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City;

3. Special Award for Government Service given during

the 15th Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC)

Founding Anniversary on August 2, 2013 at Camp Crame,

Quezon City;

4. Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta is now a Harvard

Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellow (HSEF). With


the blessing of the Department of Justice Secretary, the

Honorable Leila M. De Lima, Chief Acosta was able to attend

and complete the Senior Executive Fellows’ Program, hosted

by the John F. Kennedy School of Government, held on

October 13 – November 8, 2013, at the Harvard Kennedy

School, Boston, MA, United States of America.

VI. OTHER SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

A. PAO CENTRAL OFFICE AND ITS DISTRICT OFFICES

OBTAINED EXCELLENT RATINGS ON THE CIVIL SERVICE

COMMISSION’S ANTI-RED TAPE ACT (ARTA) SURVEY

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) conducted recently the

Anti-Red Tape (ARTA) Report Card Survey, to obtain feedback on

how the provisions of the Citizen’s Charter are being followed. In

connection thereto, the PAO-Central Office including its twenty-one

(21) PAO district offices obtained a descriptive rating of Excellent.

The said district offices and their respective numeric ratings are:

REGION OFFICE SURVEY PERIOD

FINAL

NUMERICAL

RATING

FINAL

DESCRIPTIVE

RATING

PAO - CENTRAL OFFICE Aug. 12-14,

2013 93.29 EXCELLENT

3 BALIUAG, BULACAN DISTRICT OFFICE July 29-31, 2013 96.84 EXCELLENT

4-A GUMACA, QUEZON DISTRICT OFFICE July 17-19, 2013 95.73 EXCELLENT

3 MACABEBE, PAMPANGA DISTRICT

OFFICE July 24-26, 2013 94.41 EXCELLENT

4-A BATANGAS CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 24-26, 2013 94.10 EXCELLENT

6 KALIBO, AKLAN DISTRICT OFFICE July 23-25, 2013 93.85 EXCELLENT

10 ILIGAN CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 23-25, 2013 93.63 EXCELLENT

10 MALAYBALAY CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 22-24, 2013 93.36 EXCELLENT

11 MATI CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 8-10, 2013 93.21 EXCELLENT

11 MALITA DISTRICT OFFICE July 8-11, 2013 93.21 EXCELLENT

NCR MALABON CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 92.85 EXCELLENT


3 GUIMBA, NUEVA ECIJA DISTRICT

OFFICE

July 19 & 23-24,


6 BACOLOD CITY DISTRICT OFFICE Aug. 1-2 & 5,


6 LA CARLOTA CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 23-25, 2013 91.94 EXCELLENT

7 TAGBILARAN CITY (BOHOL)

DISTRICT OFFICE July 23-25, 2013 91.84 EXCELLENT

6 ROXAS CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 9-11, 2013 91.71 EXCELLENT

NCR LAS PIÑAS CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 91.70 EXCELLENT

4-A LIPA CITY, BATANGAS DISTRICT


10 CAGAYAN DE ORO DISTRICT OFFICE July 29-31, 2013 91.54 EXCELLENT

NCR VALENZUELA DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 91.34 EXCELLENT

5 LEGAZPI CITY DISTRICT OFFICE II July 9-11, 2013 91.31 OUTSTANDING

1 BANGUI-PASUQUIN, ILOCOS NORTE

DISTRICT OFFICE July 22-26, 2013 90.88 OUTSTANDING

3 IBA, ZAMBALES DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 90.80 EXCELLENT

1 CANDON CITY, ILOCOS SUR DISTRICT

OFFICE July 2-4, 2013 90.54 OUTSTANDING

4-A CALAUAG, QUEZON DISTRICT OFFICE Nov. 11-13,


4-A BINANGONAN, RIZAL DIST. OFFICE July 3-4 & 8,

2013 90.05 OUTSTANDING

3 MALOLOS CITY, BULACAN DISTRICT


11 PAO-REGIONAL OFFICE NO. XI July 22-25, 2013 89.87 GOOD

2 PAO-REGIONAL OFFICE NO. II July 3-5 &10,

2013 89.66 GOOD

11 TAGUM CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 17-19, 2013 89.64 GOOD

1 DAGUPAN CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 10-11, 2013 89.57 GOOD

NCR CALOOCAN CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 89.43 GOOD

9-B REGIONAL OFFICE IX- PAGADIAN July 31, Aug. 1-2

& 5, 2013 89.34 GOOD

13 PAO-REGIONAL OFFICE NO. XIII July 15-19, 2013 89.28 GOOD

4-B STA. CRUZ, MARINDUQUE DISTRICT

OFFICE July 8-10, 2013 89.25 GOOD

NCR QUEZON CITY DISTRICT OFFICE Aug. 2, 5-6,

2013 89.20 GOOD

CAR BAGUIO CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 23-25, 2013 89.19 GOOD


7 PAO-REGIONAL OFFICE NO. VII July 22-24, 2013 89.19 GOOD

10 CAMIGUIN DISTRICT OFFICE July 22-26, 2013 88.97 GOOD

9-B ZAMBOANGA CITY DISTRICT OFFICE June 24-26,

2013 88.86 GOOD

1 VIGAN CITY, ILOCOS SUR DISTRICT


1 SAN FERNANDO CITY, LA UNION

DISTRICT OFFICE

July 3-5& 8,

2013 88.78 GOOD

3 CAMILING, TARLAC DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18 & 19,

2013 88.73 GOOD

NCR TAGUIG CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 88.71 GOOD

9-B MOLAVE DISTRICT OFFICE June 18-20,

2013 88.71 GOOD

CAR BANGUED, ABRA DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 88.36 GOOD

5 NAGA CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 8-10, 2013 88.34 GOOD

3 BALANGA CITY, BATAAN DISTRICT


5 SORSOGON CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 8-10, 2013 88.21 GOOD

9-B DIPOLOG CITY DISTRICT OFFICE June 25-27,

2013 87.94 GOOD

4-B ROMBLON, ROMBLON DISTRICT


6 PAO-REGIONAL OFFICE NO. VI July 8-10, 2013 87.57 GOOD

NCR MANILA DISTRICT OFFICE July 16-18, 2013 87.17 GOOD

7 ARGAO (CEBU) DISTRICT OFFICE July 24-26 &29-

30, 2013 87.14 GOOD

5 LEGAZPI CITY DISTRICT OFFICE I July 2-4, 2013 86.87 GOOD

2 BAYOMBONG DISTRICT OFFICE July 3-5, 2013 86.83 GOOD

4-A TRECE MARTIRES CITY DISTRICT


4-B ODIONGAN, ROMBLON DISTRICT

OFFICE

May 27-31,

2013 85.73 GOOD

7 MANDAUE CITY (CEBU) DISTRICT


4-A STA. CRUZ, LAGUNA DISTRICT

OFFICE

July 18-19 & 22,

2013 85.50 GOOD

6 KABANKALAN CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 22-24, 2013 84.34 GOOD

6 SAN CARLOS CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 8, 16-17,

2013 83.30 GOOD


3 PANIQUI, TARLAC DISTRICT OFFICE June 24-26,

2013 83.28 GOOD

5 MASBATE CITY DISTRICT OFFICE July 8-10, 2013 82.96 GOOD

4-A THE CITY OF BACOOR, CAVITE

DISTRICT OFFICE July 15-17, 2013 76.46 ACCEPTABLE

7 DANAO CITY (CEBU) DISTRICT

OFFICE July 17-19, 2013 74.29 ACCEPTABLE

EXCELLENT

OUTSTANDING

GOOD

ACCEPTABLE

TOTAL

22

5

37

2

66

(Bacoor, Cavite D.O.

&Danao City D.O.)

B. DEAN OF OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW

VISITED PAO

Atty. Rick Bales, Dean of Ohio Northern University College of

Law requested for a meeting with Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta to

explore potential areas of cooperation between the PAO and the said

American law school. The meeting was held on November 30, 2013 at

the PAO-Central Office.

C. PAO CONDUCTED LEGAL, MEDICAL, FORENSIC AND RELIEF

MISSION IN TACLOBAN

Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta and the PAO Forensic Team

were in Tacloban last November 28 – 29, 2013, where they conducted

Legal, Medical, Forensic and Relief Mission, in accordance with the

verbal instruction of the Secretary of Justice, the Honorable Leila M.

De Lima to Chief Acosta to render such assistance to the victims of

Typhoon Yolanda in Region VIII. The rendition of legal assistance,

the giving of food, medicines and other relief goods were part of the

humanitarian assistance that was extended by the PAO delegation to

the said victims of the recent natural disaster which devastated

Tacloban City.


D. SUDANESE AMBASSADOR SOUGHT PAO’S LEGAL

ASSISTANCE FOR ITS DETAINED NATIONAL

H.E. Khalid Abdelgadir Shukri, the Ambassador of the

Embassy of the Republic of Sudan in Malaysia had a meeting with

Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta on November 27, 2013 at the PAO-

Central Office, relative to the case of Mr. Ali Yassin Brima Zaid, a

Sudanese who is detained at the New Bilibid Prison. The public

attorneys assigned by Chief Acosta to Mr. Zaid’s case are extending

the necessary legal assistance for the said Sudanese citizen’s possible

release on humanitarian ground in view of his deteriorating health

condition and considering that he has already served ten (10) years

in prison.

E. LEGAL ASSISTANCE EXTENDED TO JANET LIM-NAPOLES

The PAO, acting on the request of the Senate Blue Ribbon

Committee, extended provisional legal assistance to Janet Lim-

Napoles. Accordingly, Napoles was represented by Atty. Howard B.

Areza, Atty. Marlon E. Buan, and Atty. Ana Lisa M. Soriano during

the hearing of the said committee on November 7, 2013.

Consequently, the Honorable Senator Teofisto Guingona III,

Chairman of the aforementioned committee, thanked the Chief

Public Attorney and the PAO. Senator Guingona also commended

Attorneys Areza, Buan, and Soriano “for ensuring that all the rights

of Ms. Napoles were protected”.

F. POLISH AMBASSADOR, H.E. ADAM JELONEK VISITED PAO

AND SOUGHT ITS ASSISTANCE

H. E. Ambassador Adam Jelonek of the Embassy of Republic of

Poland in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, visited the PAO-Central Office

on November 5, 2013, to seek legal assistance from the latter on

behalf of Barbara Ziontkowska, Polish national who is currently

detained at the Manila City Jail. The PAO through its Manila

District Office is attending to the case of the said Polish national and

is extending appropriate legal services to her.


G. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN PAO & DSWD

SIGNED

The Memorandum of Agreement entered into by the Public

Attorney’s Office and the Department of Social Welfare and

Development was signed by the Honorable Secretary Corazon

“Dinky” Soliman and the Chief Public Attorney, on October 9, 2013

at the Main Office of the Department of Social Welfare and

Development, Quezon City. The Agreement is for the benefit of

victims of Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC), Children

in Conflict with the Law (CICL), as defined under Republic Act No.

9344 (Juvenile Justice Welfare Act) and local prospective adoptive

parents who are biological parents or step-parents of the prospective

adoptees in adoption cases.

H. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN PAO AND

BUCOR SIGNED

The Memorandum of Agreement between the Public Attorney’s

Office and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) was signed on October

3, 2013 at the Department of Justice, Manila. Pursuant to this

Agreement, the PAO shall render, among other services, free legal

assistance to qualified clients of the BuCor.

I. PERMANENT PROTECTION ORDER FOR MONALIZA N.

SERPA JUAN GRANTED

A petition for issuance of a Permanent Protection Order with

Prayer for Temporary Protection Order under Republic Act (R.A.)

No. 9262 filed by the PAO for Monaliza N. Serpa Juan against Alexis

C. Reyes was granted by Hon. Roberto P. Buenaventura, Presiding

Judge of RTC-Br. 86 of Quezon City, on July 3, 2013. A copy of the

Decision was received at the PAO-Central Office on August 27, 2013.

Serpa Juan was allegedly hit in the head with a hammer by the

respondent and suffered burns in different parts of her body which

were also supposedly caused by the respondent with a plugged in flat

iron and kerosene that was used to set fire on her body.


Criminal complaints for Frustrated Murder, Consummated

Arson and Violation of RA No. 9262 have already been filed by the

PAO for Serpa Juan before the Office of the Prosecutor of Quezon

City. The case for Frustrated Murder was filed against the

respondent at RTC-Br. 98 of Quezon City, but the respondent was

able to post a bail for his provisional liberty. Hence, the filing of the

abovementioned petition by the PAO on Serpa Juan’s behalf.

J. LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO TWO FEMALE JESUS IS LORD (JIL)

PREACHERS

In connection with the request for legal assistance and forensic

evaluation on August 8, 2013, of the relatives of Leonila Cafe and

Adelaida Fabricante, Jesus Is Lord (JIL) preachers, who were

allegedly raped and murdered by two policemen in Batangas, the

Public Attorney’s Office prepared a Complaint and other necessary

legal documents on their behalf and appeared before the

Clarificatory Hearing during the Preliminary Investigation. Forensic

Reports were also made by Atty. Erwin P. Erfe, M.D., Director of the

PAO Forensic Laboratory, relative to the said request.

K. LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO ROCHELLE LOPEZ (DECEASED) AND

LIRIO JESTRE

Both of them were previously employed as kasambahays who

were allegedly maltreated by their employer, Shiela Gomez. The

Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) assisted Jestre in the preliminary

investigation of the case she filed against Gomez. After the

preliminary investigation was concluded, another victim, Rochelle

Lopez, who was allegedly killed by her former employer, was assisted

by the PAO. A Petition for Review on the Resolution of the National

Prosecution Service (NPS), Mandaluyong City in NPS Docket Nos.

XV-06-INV-BA-00033 and XV-06-INV-13B-00162 was filed by the

PAO on behalf of Jestre at the Department of Justice on July 25,

2013.


L. AUTOPSY CONDUCTED ON THE REMAINS OF THE LATE

ABUSED KASAMBAHAY, ROCHELLE LOPEZ

The PAO Forensic Team led by Atty. Erwin P. Erfe, M.D.,

conducted an autopsy on the remains of the late abused kasambahay,

Rochelle Lopez on July 6, 2013 at her family’s residence in Brgy.

Bactas, Basud, Camarines Norte.

M. COMELEC, DepEd, PAO MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

SIGNED

The Memorandum of Agreement entered into by and among the

Commission on Elections, Department of Education, and the Public

Attorney’s Office was signed by Honorable Secretary Armin Luistro,

as represented by Undersecretary Alberto Muyot and the Chief

Public Attorney, on April 11, 2013 at the DepEd-Central Office in

Pasig City. Pursuant to this Agreement, the PAO shall provide

Public Attorneys and staff who will be on duty on election day to

render immediate legal services to any public school teacher and/or

member of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) who is charged

with a complaint or is in need of legal assistance in connection with

the performance of her/his election duty.

N. EXTRAORDINARY PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

CONFERRED TO THE PAO FORENSIC TEAM

The Extraordinary Public Service Award was conferred to the

PAO Forensic Team by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and

Sciences (FAMAS), in recognition of the committed and dedicated

service beyond the call of duty, and in making investigations and

the resolution of cases, especially in the identification of victims of

the M/V Princess of the Stars maritime tragedy, further enhancing

equal justice and fairness to people from all walks of life, on April

1, 2013, AFP Theater, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.


O. LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPORTEES, EVACUEES AS WELL AS

DETAINEES FROM SABAH

Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta with her team from the Central

Office, and Regional Public Attorney Edgardo D. Gonzales of PAO-

Zamboanga Regional Office and Counselor Alicita R. Maulad-Doro of

PAO-Tawi-Tawi District Office, rendered legal assistance to

deportees, evacuees as well as detainees from Sabah on March 16 –

20, 2013 at the Juan Magluyan Naval Station, Batu-Batu, Panglima,

Sugala, Tawi-Tawi, in connection with the letter of Ms. Carolyn T.

Kiram, dated March 13, 2013, requesting in behalf of the Sultan of

Sulu, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, “to conduct investigation on the

current issues regarding the evacuees coming from Sabah...” and the

letter from 31 deportees from Sabah, dated March 13, 2013.

P. COUNSELING AND LEGAL ADVICE AT THE UP-CSWCD

Public attorneys from the PAO-Central Office rendered

counseling and legal advice regarding women’s rights, in connection

with the Gender and Development (GAD) sensitivity program of the

University of the Philippines-College of Social Work and Community

Development (UP-CSWCD) on March 7, 2013 in the said college.

Q. NOTICE IN FAVOR OF PAO ISSUED BY THE SUPREME COURT

IN THE CASE OF “LOURDES L. SANTIAGO VS. AMRODIN T.

MAKASILANG”

The Supreme Court (SC) resolved to deny the Petition for

Review or Certiorari for the case entitled, “Lourdes L. Santiago vs.

Amrodin Makasilang”, for failure of the petitioner to sufficiently

show that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed any reversible error

in the challenged decision and resolution as to warrant the exercise

of the SC’s discretionary appellate jurisdiction. A copy of notice

relative to this was received by the PAO on January 17, 2013.


PAO client Makasilang was a kidnapping suspect who was

listed in the Order of Battle of the National Anti-Kidnapping Task

Force (NAKTAF). His case was dismissed by a regional trial court in

Parañaque. He was in effect acquitted by the said court which led to

petitioner Santiago’s filing of the said Certiorari.

R. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED BY THE PAO

AND UNHCR

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the

Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) and the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on January 8, 2013 in

Quezon City, regarding access to free legal assistance, counselling

and representation of refugees, stateless persons and those seeking

recognition as refugees and/or stateless persons in the Philippine

context, provided that such persons qualify as indigents, and the

holding of seminars related thereto. Four (4) seminars funded by the

UNHCR were conducted in Davao, Cebu, Laoag, and Ortigas Center,

Quezon City.

S. MEDIATION SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTED

Mediation was conducted by the PAO in the case entitled,

“Julita J. Roxas versus Stream International GS (Phils.) Inc., R.

Scott Murray, Duane Cummins, Pearl Liu, Active One Health, Inc.”.

This resulted to a Compromise Agreement, wherein one of the terms

and conditions was the payment of one million pesos

(Php1,000,000,000.00) by the defendants to the plaintiff, Ms. Roxas,

who was assisted by the PAO. Ms. Roxas represented her late son,

Christopher Roxas, a call center agent of Stream International GS

(Phils.) Inc., who died in the line of duty.

The said Compromise Agreement was approved and adopted as

Judgment on December 14, 2012, of the Regional Trial Court-Branch

87 in Quezon City, presided by the Honoroble Judge Aurora A.

Hernandez-Calledo. A copy of the said Judgment was received by the

PAO on January 7, 2013.


VII. ADMINISTRATIVE CONCERNS

The PAO, in the delivery of its mandated mission, is

complemented by several administrative units, which render support

role to its technical operations. Altogether, they managed to carry

out its operations with utmost efficiency and dedication.

A. HUMAN RESOURCES

1. PERSONNEL COMPLEMENT

The table below shows the number of authorized, filled, and

unfilled positions in the PAO for the year 2013, to wit:

Authorized Filled Unfilled

Lawyers 1,536 1,525 11

Support

Personnel 1,025 1,023 2

TOTAL 2,561 2,548 13

2. PERSONNEL MOVEMENT

From January to December 2013, the movement of personnel in

the PAO is shown here below:

Lawyer Support Staff TOTAL

Recruited 72 32 104

Promoted 58 10 68

3. PERSONNEL ENHANCEMENT

The PAO has conducted series of seminars to enhance the

capability, knowledge and professional skills of participants in order

to mold them into efficient and truly competitive legal counsels.

It has been the Office practice to provide continuous seminars

and trainings to its personnel specifically lawyers to keep them

abreast with the recent development in law and jurisprudence. Thus,


ensuring the efficiency and capability of the public attorneys in

protecting the rights of the oppressed and indigents.

Aside from trainings and seminars conducted by the office,

lawyers and support personnel from the PAO have likewise attended

other trainings, seminars, workshops and conferences upon

invitation of other government and non-government organizations.

From January to December, 2013, there were about 100

seminars attended by PAO personnel. A total of 1,498 lawyers and

318 support staff were registered in attendance.

B. FINANCIAL RESOURCES

The approved appropriation for the Office for the year 2013 was

Php 1,852,142,000.00 and was fully released. SARO releases

amounted to Php 26,653,500.00 and 12,740,000.00 intended to

cover funding for Performance-Based Bonus and Productivity

Enhancement Incentive. The amount of Php 10,681,539.00 was also

released for the Terminal Leave benefits of retired employees. The

total obligations for FY 2013 amounted to Php 1,902,216,784.00.

C. LIBRARY SERVICES

The PAO, through its library services, envisions giving better

and more efficient means of assisting its clientele, through modern

and advance information assisted technology such as the Internet,

modern fax machines, and telephone units for a fast transmission of

output.

The PAO library purchased and distributed a total of 615

copies of legal books and reference materials to PAO Regional

Offices and District Offices. The PAO also has a yearly subscription

of the Lex Libris Bulletin which is a compilation of laws,

jurisprudence circulars, memoranda, etc. in a compact disc (CD)


which is being supplied by CD Technologies Asia, Inc. It includes

eleven (11) compact disc of various subject, to wit:

1. Philippine Law Bulletins 2013

Philippine Law Bulletins 2013.3

2. 1901 to 2012 Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence Bulletins 2013.3

3. Department of Justice 2011

4. Environment and Natural Resources 2008

5. Labor and Social Legislation 2011

6. Local Autonomy & Local Government 2012

7. Trade, Commerce and Industry 2008

8. National Administrative Register 2011

9. Education Law and the Private Schools

10. Family Law

11. Philippine Judicial and Legal Forms

The PAO Library, through its personnel, was able to collate a

total of 353 news releases from twelve (12) various broadsheets

and tabloids from January to December of 2013 which include,

among others, the following:

• The case of Bonita Baran, a tortured former house helper in

Quezon City causing her to go blind and suffer facial, head and other

disabling injuries. PAO is the legal counsel of Bonita Baran.

• The death of Dennis Aranas, a witness in the murder of

Palawan broadcaster and environmentalist Doctor Jerry Ortega, was

found dead inside his jail cell at the Lucena BJMP. PAO autopsied

Aranas and according to the findings of medico legal, he was

murdered.

• The jail visitation conducted by Public Attorney’s Office in

several city jails – National Bilibid Prison, Quezon City Jail Female

Dormitory in Camp Karingal, Manila City Jail, etc.


• The case of 38 detainees who allegedly are followers of the

Sultan of Sulu who sought the legal assistance of the PAO.

• The release of Dominga Cadelina (former house helper of Janet

Lim Napoles), after Makati MTC dismissed the qualified theft

charges filed against her by the husband and brother of Ms. Napoles.

PAO is the legal counsel of Cadelina.

• The “COMGUILD 2013 Outstanding Public Servant Award

(Legal Assistance)” presented to Hon. Persida V. Rueda-Acosta, Chief

Public Attorney in recognition of her Outstanding Commitment and

Inspiring Dedication in Public Service through legal assistance and

excellent leadership, held on September 29, 2013 at the AFP

Theater, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Through its tri-media linkages, the PAO has continuously been

rendering legal advice to the general public through the newspaper

columns Say Mo Attorney? in People’s Tonight; Atorni First in

PinoyParazzi; Dear PAO, published in The Manila Times, and

Magtanong Kay Attorney, in Bulgar. A total of 148 articles for Say

Mo Attorney?, 359 articles for Dear PAO, 360 articles for

Magtanongkay Attorney, and 98 articles for Atorni First were

published and clipped into file for the period covering January to

December 2013.

D. OFFICE EQUIPMENT

For the period covering January to December 2013, the

following office equipment were procured for distribution to various

PAO regional and district offices as well as the Central Office, to wit:

● Computer printer 536 units

● Desktop computer

(Taken from 2012 budget)

514 units

● Laptop computer


3 units


● Tablet 2 units

● Projector


1 unit

● Scanner 12 units

● Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)

(Taken from 2012 budget): 514 units

809 units

● Desktop computer with UPS

(not yet delivered)

503 units

● Fax Machine 4 units

● Office table 3 units

● Executive desk/table 13 units

● Clerical desk/table 30 units

● Filing cabinet (4 drawers)

(353 units not yet delivered)

458 units

● Filing cabinet (2 drawers)

(not yet delivered)

7 units

● Executive chair


65 units

● Clerical chair 8 units

● Visitors chair 24 units

● Computer chair


26 units

● Monoblock chair


487 units

● Biometric time recorder


32 units

● Refrigerator 2 units

● Vacuum cleaner 7 units

● Air-conditioning unit

(Taken from 2012 budget): 2 units


37 units

● Paper shredder 2 units

● Power generator 6 units

● Safety vault 2 units

● Copier machine

(not yet delivered)

3 units

● Printronix

(not yet delivered)

1 unit

● Manual typewriter

(not yet delivered)

8 units

● Bookshelf 2 units


● Long bench 2 units

● Monobloc bench 2 units

● Divider cabinet 3 units

Since her assumption into office, it has been the battle cry of

the Chief Public Attorney to put into oblivion the traditional

impression with public offices where there is a dearth of office supply

and obsolete and/or worn out office equipment. With the purchase of

the foregoing office furnishings, such as chairs, filing cabinets,

tables, and posture chairs, PAO personnel were able to perform their

duties in a more office-friendly environment. Needless to say, the

same contributed to the continuously swelling public trust to the

services of the PAO.

In addition, the computerization program of the office saw the

continuous upgrading of existing computer units in order to cope up

with the fast changing times and technology.

VIII. TECHNICAL OPERATIONS

A. PAO-NLRC SUB-STATION

By virtue of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the

Public Attorney’s Office and the National Labor Relations

Commission (NLRC) located at Banawe in Quezon City, the PAO

maintains its sub-station at the NLRC to serve its clients.

The sub-station facilitates the rendition of legal assistance to

complaining workers before the NLRC and aims to expedite the

proceedings; hence, it makes its services more accessible to

complaining workers.

The efficiency and effectiveness of the office have been proven

for years. For the period covering January to December, 2013, a total

of 10,317 clients were accommodated and given legal assistance.


B. RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION

For the year 2013, a total of 2,283 research works were duly

accomplished by the Public Attorney’s Office through the Legal

Research Service.

For the said period, the PAO, through the Legal Research

Service, was able to answer 111 legal queries and these were

published in newspapers of national circulation. These include legal

questions from the public which were either directly addressed or

referred to the PAO. The sudden upsurge in the number of research

works was brought about by the increasing public trust coupled with

consistent tri-media linkages as means of education and information

dissemination of the PAO. The accessibility of the Chief Public

Attorney herself for public services has, for one reason, made a great

difference.

C. ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINTS AGAINST PAO EMPLOYEES

From January to December 2013, 157 cases were resolved

and terminated through the PAO - Legal Research Service.

The PAO, through the fortitude of the Chief Public Attorney,

has been trying to preserve the integrity not only of the entire agency

but of each lawyer and personnel appointed in the office.


IX. CONTINUING PLANS AND PROGRAMS

A. Development of an internal operating system to address all

Information Technology (IT) concerns, for the rendition of

prompt and effective legal services to the indigents;

B. Organization, establishment and maintenance of database, case

management, and monitoring system for all cases handled by

PAO nationwide;

C. Compliance with ISO 9000 and the Government Quality

Management Systems Standards (GQMSS), pursuant to

Administrative Order No. 161 dated October 5, 2006;

D. Maintain and upgrade the PAO Forensic Laboratory for the

furtherance of investigation being conducted relative to cases

handled by this Office, pursuant to Republic Act 9745 (Anti-

Torture Act of 2009), Republic Act No. 9262 (Anti-Violence

Against Women and their Children Act of 2004, Republic Act

8353 (Anti-Rape Law) and other existing laws mandating the

PAO to assist the victims or accused on a first come-first served

basis;

E. Development of talents of personnel through trainings and

support to PAO-Chorale members;

F. Open a Medical and Dental Clinic at the PAO-Central Office for

the health benefit of its employees;

G. Policy advocacy and coordination for the enhancement of victims

protection unit;

H. Continuously carry out activities and outreach programs for the

welfare of prisoners and inmates such as the PAO’s free Legal

and Medical Jail Visitation and Decongestion Program;

I. Continuation of the “PAO’s Advanced Training/Workshop in

Forensic Medicine and Science” pursuant to DOJ Memorandum


Circular No. 1, dated January 7, 2008, as part of manpower

capacity building;

J. Continuous promotion of good governance, professionalism, and

anti-corruption measures;

K. Continuous improvement of communication facilities and other

office equipment;

L. Vigorous efforts to implement compensation scheme and financial

incentives of the PAO lawyers to further motivate them in

discharging their duties pursuant to R.A. No. 9406 (PAO Law);

M. Continuous capacity building, enhancement of the skills and

competence of PAO lawyers and staff through the holding of

workshops and seminars;

N. Increase the number of lawyers and support staff assigned in

each of the Regional and District Offices for a more effective and

efficient delivery of services pursuant to Republic Act 9406 (PAO

Law);

O. Continuous coordination with the tri-media for the advancement

of the PAO outreach activities, more particularly, dissemination

of free legal advice, counseling, and mediation;

P. Vigorously pursue the rendition of prompt, effective and adequate

legal services to the indigent sector;

Q. Maintain programs and policies in achieving virtues of excellence,

integrity, professionalism and moral values of all PAO lawyers

and staff;

R. Endeavor to meet the ideal situation of one PAO lawyer being

assigned to one court for a more effective and efficient

representation of clients;

S. Empowerment of the PAO’s capacity in promoting Gender and

Development (GAD) Program of the government such as the


creation of projects and activities that will promote gender

sensitivity;

T. Continuous active participation of the PAO in the on-going anti-

corruption, pro-poor and social justice programs of the Aquino

administration; and

U. Continuous cooperation with the courts in the case decongestion

program being spearheaded by the Supreme Court.

PERSIDA V. RUEDA –ACOSTA

Chief Public Attorney

ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ATTORNEY’S OFFICEs_Office... · 2020. 2. 4. · 2013 PAO...

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