|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
a brief history The PAO came into being in response to the challenge for a government agency for the advancement and protection of legal rights of the less privileged sector of our society as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution. The seed, as it were, of the PAO was planted on August 30, 1954, when R.A. No. 1199 created the Agricultural Tenancy Commission, which was later renamed as Tenancy Mediation Commission (TMC). With the passage on August 8, 1963 of R.A. No. 3844, otherwise known as the “Agricultural Land Reform Code”, TMC was further strengthened and rename as the Office of the Agrarian Counsel (OTAC). However, the economic and social changes that occurred since then as well as the demands of the time, invariably blew the winds of public clamor for a more accessible legal service to our people, thus necessitating an expansion of agrarian related assistance provided by OTAC to include civil, criminal, administrative, and labor case. This paved the way for the creation of Citizen’s Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) under P.D. No. 1 and Implemented Order No. 4, dated October 23, 1972. The CLAO started out with a work force of 94 lawyers and an organizational set-up, which had 10 Regional and 25 District offices. With the advent of the Administrative Code of 1987 (E.O. 292) on July 25, 1987, the CLAO was renamed Public Attorney’s Office (PAO). The change being merely nominal, the mandate remained the same, that is to extend legal assistance free of charge to indigent persons in civil, criminal, administrative, and labor cases. Since its creation, the growth of the PAO was quiet and steady with 16 Regional Offices, 251 district offices, and 5 sub-district offices in existence at the end of the year 2001. There is also a rapid increase in the number of civil and criminal cases handled annually by the PAO, from approximately 169,205 in 1992 to over 408,145 in 2001. It was able to serve a total of 5,400,637 clients for the whole year of 2001, through its rendition of free legal services which include judicial and non-judicial services, mediation and counseling, jail visitation, inquest assistance, documentation, legal advice and on-air counseling. This swelling workload underscore the fact that there is a demand for free legal services from the indigent sector of the Philippines that must be met if we would safeguard our kind of society. keeping pace with this daunting task is an actual work force of 940 lawyers and 760 support staff nationwide. From January 2001 to september 2002, the PAO field lawyers have won 2,694 cases before the lower courts and other quasi-judicial and administrative bodies by way of acquittals and favorable judgment/decision in civil cases. The Special and Appealed Cases Division (SACD), PAO-Central Office, was able to obtain 107 reduction of penalty from death to life from January 2001 to July 2002. It was also able to obtain 14 acquittals in the appealed cases of those accused who were sentenced to death by the lower court. No less than the UNICEF and the British Embassy have recognized the vital role the PAO plays in the justice system that they have magnanimously shared their resources to finance seminars/workshops to further hone the skills of its lawyers. The World Bank and UNDP, has already signified its willingness to support training and seminars for PAO lawyers and possible assistance and donation of equipment. The Supreme Court, PHILJA and MCLE Committee, in recognition of its mandate of providing free legal services to poor Filipinos, accredited the PAO as a Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) provider as of August 5, 2002, thereby allowing the PAO to conduct its own trainings and seminars for its lawyers. Truly, the PAO has become more accessible to the indigent filipino masses who are in dire need of legal assistance and services. It has become an institution on its own when it comes to providing free legal assistance to whole nation. The PAO past leadership who all contributed to its growth and expansion since its creation thirty (30) years ago, were as follows: Attys. Oscar M. Ontimare, (CLAO), Reynold S. Fajardo, Josefina G. Bacal and Carina J. Demaisip. Today, the Chief Public Attorney is the Honorable Persida V. Rueda-Acosta, who is in the forefront of continuing its mandate of providing free legal services to the poor. She catapulted the PAO to greated heights in the delivery of its legal services through several assigned high-profile and celebrated cases such as the May 1, 2001 Rebellion case, the former Philippine President Estrada Case, the “ANGELICA” Rape Case, the PAO Legal assistance to MILF leaders in securing an order granting their Motion for Re-investigation and to Suspend/lift Warrants of Arrest on July 15-18, 2003, and the PAO Legal assistance to P01 Ronald Palmares, the neophyte jail guard, in connection with the Al Ghozi escape.
|
|||||||||