The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) is seeking the intervention of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the agency’s long-delayed request with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to ensure uniformity of salary grades for public defenders and prosecutors in the National Prosecution Service of the Department of Justice.
In an interview on Tuesday, PAO chief Persida Acosta said that if the request is granted, she would no longer benefit due to her looming retirement.
She pointed out that her successor, along with senior officials, stands to benefit.
After being conferred the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award in 2004, Acosta was promoted through an increase in salary rank equivalent to that of a Cabinet secretary, from salary grade 30 to salary grade 31.
Acosta said that on December 20, 2021, PAO submitted its request to the DBM to fully realize the spirit and legislative intent of Republic Act 9406, or the PAO Law, and to accord the next PAO chief and other PAO officials a right that has accrued to the position as counterparts of the Prosecutor General of the NPS and other prosecutors.
“We, at the PAO, trust the President for his unwavering understanding of the needs of our office in providing quality public service to our clients and equalizing their standing in the judicial arena,” she said.
“We believe the Chief Executive will allow the rule of law to prevail, as no one is above the law,” she added.
PAO Deputy Chief Ana Lisa Soriano cited a provision under the PAO Law mandating that the Chief Public Attorney shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, salaries, allowances, and retirement privileges as those of the Chief State Prosecutor of the NPS.
Moreover, the deputy chief public attorneys shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, salaries, allowances, and retirement privileges as those of the NPS’ assistant chief state prosecutor, she said.
PAO positions such as regional, provincial, and city public attorney must also have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, salaries, allowances, and retirement privileges as their NPS counterparts, she added.
Dr. Erwin Erfe, deputy chief public attorney for Visayas and Mindanao, told reporters that the DBM denied their request in 2022, citing that the NPS law is a later law than the PAO law.
The DBM also wanted PAO to first solicit the official opinion or position of the DOJ on the matter, he said.
“But we believe that the DOJ’s official opinion or position is unnecessary since PAO is an independent and autonomous office, although attached to the DOJ only for purposes of policy and program coordination,” he said.
Sensing that there would be no resolution from the DOJ and DBM, Acosta said they decided to seek the President’s “helping hand, intercession, and resolution.”
“Ultimately, it is within the President’s power to resolve matters of this nature pertaining to the application and execution of the provisions of the PAO Law,” she emphasized.
“Thus, we hereby express our amenability to the application of the PAO Law and adjustment of PAO officials’ and PAO retirees’ ranks and salaries prospectively,” she said.
