Daily TribuneRemulla said he considers the PAO as ‘one of the pillars of the Philippine justice system’
The 496 newly hired lawyers of the Public Attorney's Office have received a rousing welcome from Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla who told them they're at the very heart of the department in affording Filipinos justice.
"You are doing the right thing. I am very happy that you guys are here," Remulla told the new PAO lawyers during their recent oath-taking ceremony. He reminded them, however, never to lose track of their duty to give "justice a very humane face in our society."
"You are the heart of the Department of Justice," Remulla said of the lawyers who would represent people who cannot afford the services of private lawyers in facing their cases.
Remulla said he considers the PAO headed by Persida Acosta as "one of the pillars of the Philippine justice system."
"We're like one leg of the judiciary. Many cases would not be called and be heard on trial if there were no public attorneys to attend to the cases to represent the poor, the needy, the destitute, and sometimes the hopeless," the DoJ chief said.
"And we inject hope into the lives of these people who come to court, feeling poor, feeling helpless," he said as he asked the new PAO lawyers to work hard and be ready to face challenges.
Acosta has said PAO lawyers are not what the public perceives them to be as they are keen on getting justice for the poor they represent.
The PAO chief may have been referring to the abogado paamin reputation of PAO lawyers — that they allegedly always advise their wards to just admit to crimes they are charged with so they could plea bargain for lesser penalties or shorter prison sentences.
