DEPARTMENT of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla has hailed Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta for initiating the ‘mandatory continuing legal education’ for over 2, 500 public attorneys whom he described as the ‘busiest and sharpest.’
Speaking at PAO’s six-day (August 12-17, 2024) national convention at the Philippine International Convention Center, he said PAO chief’s efforts to keep the public attorneys from different regions in the country in a single venue where they’re engaged with legal luminaries and experts was worth-emulating.
“Imagine, it’s already on its 8th Mandatory Continuing Legal Education congress and we praise the PAO chief for such an initiative. At DOJ, we just started our first similar project last year when I assumed the post.”
He also cited the chief public attorney for her resolve to ensure that PAO has sufficient budget for its operations as well as benefits of the public lawyers and its personnel.
But Remulla acknowledged that PAO still needs more public attorneys to fully serve millions of underprivileged and poor Filipinos across the country.
By calculation alone, around seven million people and their families need the services of PAO, he said.
Remulla, also a lawyer, said the convention was a testament of the entire public attorneys commitment and desire to continuously improve their ability to deliver justice especially for the less-fortunate Filipinos.
“Your mandate is not an easy one. Providing reliable, appropriate and immediate legal service to the marginalized Filipinos is a monumental challenge but it’s also an opportunity to demonstrate your resilience, integrity and compassion,” he told them.
Recognizing the load of work of every public attorney on a daily basis as more Filipinos have been relying on PAO for free legal services, Remulla said there’s no doubt that “you are the busiest and by the force of circumstance, you are the sharpest.”
He took the opportunity to thank the PAO chief and the public attorneys, as it was his first time to talk before thousands of lawyers.
“This is also my first time again to talk in public and this is the best place to come out and best people to talk to,” the DOJ chief said.
