The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO): Financial

Management Framework Towards An Empowered Free Legal Aid Agency & Efficient

Administration of Justice

By Dr. Persida V. Rueda-Acosta

1

Introduction Republic Act No. 9406

Well-Served PAO

Clientele

Empowered PAO

Employees

Accountability Trainings

PAO requires PAO gives

Effective & High Quality Free Legal

Aid Services

Financial Support

2

Power (Mandate/ Authority)

Social Development

Independence

Budget Salaries

Personnel Plantilla Items

Disbursements

Transparency Empowerment Accountability 3

Overview A. PAO Organizational Structure

B. Empowerment: Public Attorney’s Office Employees

• RA 9406 – increase budget, salaries & plantilla positions

• Trainings

C. Empowerment: Public Attorney’s Office Clientele

• Maintain the quality of human resources

• Free legal aid services

D. Implementation of Republic Act No. 9406

• Outcomes & Challenges

4

PAO Organizational Structure

CHIEF PUBLIC ATTORNEY

Deputy Chief Public Attorney (Administration)

Administrative Service

Financial Planning and Management

Service

Executive Support Staff

Deputy Chief Public Attorney (Operations)

Special and Appealed Cases

Service

Legal Research Service

Field Operations and

Statistics Service

CHIEF PUBLIC ATTORNEY

17 Regional Offices

296 District Offices

5 Sub-District Offices

2 Regional Special and Appealed

Cases Units

Annex Satellite Office

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Empowerment: Public Attorney’s Office Employees

• RA 9406 signed on March 23, 2007

• Principal law office in giving free-legal aid services

• Strengthened its whole organizational structure

• Independent and autonomous

• Attached to DOJ for policy & program coordination

6

Public Attorney’s Office Annual Budget FY 2001-2015

General Appropriations Act

Total Allotment Released ( 1.00 Php = 46.00 USD )

Php USD 2001 429,443,000 559,371,212 12,160,243.74 2002 524,015,000 573,726,075 12,472,305.98 2003 514,324,000 593,156,448 12,894,705.39 2004 517,469,000 592,139,568 12,872,599.30 2005 524,647,000 611,616,628 13,296,013.65 2006 555,698,000 641,917,611 13,954,730.67 2007 596,419,000 689,049,000 14,979,326.09 2008 725,158,000 767,397,000 16,682,543.48 2009 816,430,000 947,539,000 20,598,673.91 2010 825,121,000 1,346,370,000 29,268,913.04 2011 1,182,221,000 1,610,040,366 35,000,877.52 2012 1,350,512,000 1,901,107,000 41,328,413.04 2013 1,794,631,000 1,902,207,000 41,352,326.09 2014 1,825,873,000 1,971,795,000 42,865,108.70 2015 1,876,558,000 2,101,845,496 45,692,293.39

2016* 1,988,382,000 2,269,153,136 49,329,416.00

*as of March 2016 7

Increase in Budget

In 2015 Budget per client: P285.00 (Php 2 billion divided

by 7 million clients)

General Appropriations Act for 2016 Legal aid funding for the PAO from the Philippine Government : Php 2,269,153,136 Personnel services: 90.34% Maintenance and Operating Expenses of the Office: 4.24% Capital outlay: 5.42%

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Salaries: Tranche 1 & 4

POSITION SALARY GRADE

MONTHLY SALARY (1st Step)

Equivalent Dollar Value (as of April 4, 2016) at Php.

46.03/USD ASSOCIATE PUBLIC

ATTORNEY I 18 33,452 726.74 USD.

ASSOCIATE PUBLIC ATTORNEY II 22 47,448 1,030.81 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY I 25 61,971 1,346.32 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY II 26 67,690 1,470.56 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY III 27 73,937 1,607.06 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY IV 28 80,760 1,754.51 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY V 29 88,214 1,916.45 USD. DEPUTY CHIEF

PUBLIC ATTORNEY CHIEF PUBLIC

ATTORNEY 31 117,086 2,543.69 USD.

Executive Order No. 201

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1st Tranche January 1, 2016

4th Tranche January 1, 2019

POSITION SALARY GRADE

MONTHLY SALARY (1st Step)

Equivalent Dollar Value (as of April

4, 2016) at Php. 46.03/USD

ASSOCIATE PUBLIC ATTORNEY I 18 40,637 882.84 USD.

ASSOCIATE PUBLIC ATTORNEY II 22 65,319 1,419.05 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY I 25 95,083 2,065.67 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY II 26 107,444 2,334.22 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY III 27 121,411 2,637.65 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY IV 28 137,195 2,980.56 USD.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY V 29 155,030 3,368.02 USD. DEPUTY CHIEF PUBLIC

ATTORNEY CHIEF PUBLIC

ATTORNEY 31 257,809 5,600.89 USD.

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Increase of Plantilla Positions Position 2009 2015

PAO Lawyers 1048 1622 Non-PAO Lawyers 802 1025

Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Conventions • August 18 to 23, 2003 2nd National Convention of

PAO Lawyers

• November 6 to 10, 2006 Grand Workshop of the Lawyers and Staff of the Public Attorney's Office

• September 28 to October 2, 2009 3rd MCLE Accredited National Convention of Public Attorneys

• December 12 to 16, 2011 4th MCLE Accredited National Convention of Public Attorneys

• October 12 to 17, 2014 5th MCLE Accredited National Convention of Public Attorneys

Trainings – Part 1

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR) United States Agency for International Development

(USAID) American Bar Association - Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-

ROLI)

PAO International Partner Institutions/Training Sponsors

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Trainings – Part 2

Maintain the quality of human resources / Free legal aid services

1. Rigid selection of employees

2. Evaluation by immediate supervisors

3. Ensure accountability of erring employees

4. Implementation of administrative sanctions/ penalties

5. Installation of Biometrics System

6. Spot Inspection

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PAO: SOARING, SERVING SINCE 2007: Consistently serving more or less five million (5,000,000) clients; handling more or less five hundred thousand (500,000) cases per year. LAST YEAR (2015): Served 7,747,735 clients, handled 848,516 cases

Outcomes

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Acquittals and Other Favorable Dispositions Criminal Cases - 2007 to 2015

YEAR Acquittals Other Favorable Dispositions

Total Number of Acquittals and Other Favorable Dispositions (Criminal Cases)

2007 13,265 73,328 86,593 2008 9,859 72,107 81,966 2009 10,906 107,713 118,619 2010 12,562 135,905 148,467 2011 18,064 155,508 173,572 2012 10,687 100,372 111,059 2013 11,659 140,793 152,452 2014 12,199 137,615 149,814 2015 13,221 145,127 158,348

TOTAL (2007-2015) 112,422 1,068,468 1,180,890

Public Attorney’s Office Compliant with the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 Recipient of the 2014 Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) Breakthrough Agency Award - from the Civil Service Commission 2nd Placer in the Report Card Survey - conducted by the Civil Service Commission in its assessment among Philippine offices, regarding compliance with ARTA.

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Outcomes (continuation)

PAO Victims Assistance Unit Created on July 12, 2012 Addresses the needs of: victims of violence against women and their children victims of torture, massacres & killings mass disasters & natural calamities and children in conflict with the law and other similar cases

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Outcomes (continuation)

PAO Forensic Laboratory Provides medico-legal and forensic assistance to clients of PAO Victims’ Assistance Unit Was launched on January 27, 2010 In 2015: Rendered 144 forensic services

Memorandum of Understanding: Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Signed: January 8, 2013

REFUGEES/ EVACUEES No. of Cases Handled (Year 2015) = 5 Non-Judicial Services

• Documents Prepared = 33 • Oaths Administered = 276 • Clients Counseled = 1,632 • Inquest Investigation = 31

UNHCR Meetings/ Seminars Held = 18 Number of Lawyers Who Attended = 240

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Outcomes (continuation)

Agreement on Mutual Assistance for Citizens of Both Countries: Public Attorney’s Office and the Legal Aid Foundation of R.O.C., Taiwan Signed: October 27, 2014 Beneficiaries: Filipinos in Taiwan, and Taiwanese in the Philippines

o Seeking legal assistance/qualified for legal services of said organizations.

Number of beneficiaries: 37 (as of December, 2015)

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Outcomes (continuation)

Faithful compliance and fulfillment of Republic Act No. 9406

Section 7 1:1 ratio (public attorney: court) Heavy workload Section 5 Retirement privileges Fast turn-over/transfer of lawyers

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Challenges

Institution with a decent work reputation/credibility Supported by lawmakers - Transcend politics to advance a worthy

cause

Effective leadership Efficient financial management

Good work ethic

Solid foundation for an institution’s reputation Conclusion

DR. PERSIDA V. RUEDA-ACOSTA Chief Public Attorney, Public Attorney’s Office

Doctor of Social Development, College of Social Work and Community Development, University of the

Philippines-Diliman, Quezon City Senior Executive Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School

Climate Reality Leader, The Climate Reality Project/The Climate Reality Leadership Corps

Senior Fellow, Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowships Fellow, Salzburg Global Seminar

Fellow, Japan Legal Aid Association International Visitor (IV), International Visitors Program

of the United States of America Member, International Legal Aid Group Member, International Association of

Bloodstain Pattern Analysts Member, International Corrections and Prisons Association

4th Placer, 1989 Philippine Bar Examinations Professor, Ateneo de Manila University Law School

Contact Information

Cellphone numbers: 0919-262-5190; 0917-845-2156 E-mail Addresses: persidaacosta@gmailcom; pao_executive@yahoo.com Website: www.pao.gov.ph

Thank You!

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