THE Department of Budget and Management has given the Public Attorney’s Office with a perfect score of 5 or an outstanding rating among the justice sector in connection with its annual evaluation of the physical, financial, and income performance of government agencies.
The DBM rating, released late last month, was part of its Annual Agency Performance Review for 2024 and through the provisions outlined in its Circular Letter 2025-2 which also compared the actual results against planned targets.
It also brings to light the quality and timeliness of fund utilization reports, according to the DBM.
As part of its regular assessment on the financial performance of the government agencies, the DBM conducted the physical and financial performance of the Department of Justice and its attached agencies including PAO.
For its financial performance, the DBM said the DOJ’s obligation and disbursement budget utilization rates were 84.55 percent and 91.14 percent, respectively.
According to DBM, these rates were lower than those recorded for the same period in 2023.
“Notably, PAO posted a 100 percent utilization rate for all parameters,” the DBM said in its report sent to the DOJ leadership.
It added that PAO has ensured that set goals were carried out within the allocated timeframe and budget.
On physical performance, the DBM cited PAO for its 83.63 percent disposition rate on 361, 857 cases it handled including the appealed cases.
Elated by DBM’s ‘remarkable rating,’ PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta this would result “in a more effective, organized, and streamlined approach in rendering service to the Filipino people.”
The chief public attorney reminds her officials, lawyers, and staff of the importance of integrity in the agency’s expenditures as these funds are from the taxes of the hard-working ‘Juan Dela Cruz.’
“It is a must that up until the last centavo is accounted for,” Rueda-Acosta said.
She stressed that the outstanding rating was not just the success of PAO but also the victory of all especially the indigents and underprivileged members of society.
“For this is an implication that PAO is a well-performing government agency, both in the physical and financial performances that banks on transparency and accountability,” Rueda-Acosta added.
