| via Rappler
Republic Act No. 9406, also known as the PAO law, mandates the PAO to provide legal assistance to indigent Filipinos who need it. The legal assistance covers criminal, civil, labor, and administrative cases, among others. But being a public lawyer in the Philippines is not an easy task.
PUBLIC LAWYER. PAO lawyer Noliver Barrido during a sitdown interview with Rappler.
In fact, there is a “high turnover of public attorneys,” said the PAO in its 2023 accomplishment report, with 36% or majority of its personnel staying for only four years or less. The usual reasons cited were the heavy workload and resignations of their lawyers to engage in private practice. Some also transferred to the judiciary, prosecution, or other government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations.
Of the millions of Filipinos it serves, the PAO only has 2,505 lawyers. For 2023, each PAO lawyer served around 4,997 clients, while one lawyer handled an average of 333 cases within the same period. PAO chief Persida Acosta earlier said they need at least 4,000 lawyers to meet the demands of the office
“So paano mo ma-handle ‘yon [cases]? Paano mo matututukan ‘yong isang kaso? Paano mo makakabisado ‘yong facts no’ng case, arguments, etc. kung sobrang dami?
So tingin ko, ‘yon talaga ‘yong number one na problem,”
Barrido told Rappler.
(So how can you handle the cases? How can you focus in one case? How can you memorize the facts of the case, the arguments, etc. if you handle too many cases? So I think that’s the number one problem.)
“In terms naman sa health, may iba ‘kong mga kakilala na umabot sa gano’n na kinailangang magpa-ospital, mag-undergo ng psychiatric counseling dahil umabot na sa gano’ng point ‘yong effect ng workload,” Barrido said.
(In terms of health, I know a few people who had to go to a hospital or undergo psychiatric counseling because the stress from the workload already reached that level.)
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