Republic of the Philippines onres. R204
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Time: —_SCy }
Quezon City %, BY: r
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS Ne
First Regular Session

4272

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HONORABLE ROMERO “MIRO” 8. QUIMBO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The daunting and sensitive legal duties of the Office of the Solicitor General
(OSG) show that there is an imperative need for the amendment of Republic Act
No. 9417 or “An Act to Strengthen the Office of the Solicitor General by
Expanding and Streamlining its Bureaucracy, Upgrading Employee Skills and
Augmenting Benefits, and Appropriating Funds Therefor and For Other
Purposes.” This bill seeks for the further strengthening of the OSG as an
institution, as well as providing its lawyers and employees benefits and
privileges already being enjoyed by their counterparts in other government
offices.

In particular, this bill aims to upgrade the rank of the Solicitor General from
Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals to an Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court. The Solicitor General is the government official authorized to
appear before the courts and defend the government, its departments, agencies
and instrumentalities, Congress included. This crucial role played by the
Solicitor General substantiates the upgrading of the qualifications for
appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, allowances, emoluments, benefits
and privileges of the Solicitor General to that of an Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court.

‘And while R.A. No. 9417 already provides that Senior State Solicitors and State
Solicitors of the OSG shall have the same rank, salaries, and privileges as that
of trial court judges, many benefits provided for by R.A. No. 9946, otherwise
‘known as an Act Granting Additional Retirement, Survivorship, and other
Benefits to Members of the Judiciary, like retirement under R.A. No. 910, are
reserved for members of the judiciary only.

Ironically, the counterparts of Senior OSG lawyers in the National Prosecution
Service (NPS) and Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) already enjoy many other
benefits, which senior OSG lawyers are deprived of. There is a need, therefore,


to equalize the benefits and privileges received by these government lawyers by
similarly affording them the same prerogatives, salaries, allowances, benefits
and privileges given to their counterparts in the Judiciary, NPS and the PAO.

Being the most heavily case laden lawyers of the government, OSG lawyers
carry many responsibilities and face hazards to health and limb. The brutal and
cold-blooded assassination of model public servant Assistant Solicitor General
Nestor J. Ballacillo, a Civil Service Dangal ng Bayan Awardee, and of his son
Benedict last 06 December 2006 is clear proof of this.

‘The amendments on survivorship, authority to borrow and increase of the
OS@’s share in monetary awards or assets given by courts to client
departments and assets awarded to the government in forfeiture proceedings to
20% also serve to further strengthen the OSG by increasing its source of
income for the payment of the mandated benefits and expansion under R.A. No.
9417.

In view thereof, the expedient approval of this bill is strongly recommended.

ROMERO “MIRO” S. QUIMBO
Representative
Second District, Marikina City


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4272

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HONORABLE ROMERO “MIRO” S. QUIMBO

AN ACT
TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9417 AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 9417 is hereby amended
to read as follows:

“SEC. 3. Standards. - The Solicitor General shall have
cabinet rank and the same qualifications for appointment,
rank, CATEGORY, prerogatives, salaries, allowances,
[benefits] EMOLUMENTS, [and] privileges, AND RETIREMENT
AND ALL OTHER BENEFITS of [a Presiding Justice of the
Court of Appeals] AN ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE
SUPREME COURT; an Assistant Solicitor General, those of an
Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals.

The qualifications for appointment, rank, CATEGORY,
prerogatives, salaries, ALLOWANCES, EMOLUMENTS,
{benefits} privileges, AND RETIREMENT AND ALL OTHER
BENEFITS of Solicitors shall be the same as judges, specified

as follows:
Senior State Solicitor - Regional Trial Court Judge
State Solicitor II - Metropolitan Trial Court Judge
State Solicitor I - Municipal Trial Court in Cities

Judge
The Solicitor General shall determine the qualifications,
prerogatives and responsibilities of the Associate Solicitors.”

SECTION 2. Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9417 is hereby amended to read
as follows:


“SEC. 5. Benefits and Privileges. - Subject to the
availability of funds, the Office of the Solicitor General may
provide its employees with the following:

(1) Health care service through a health maintenance
organization (HMO), Expenses for the mandatory annual
executive check-up of the Solicitor General, the Assistant
Solicitors General, and the Service Heads, shall be for the
account of the office;

(2) All employees shall be covered by accident insurance
policies procured by the office at its own expense during
travels while in the performance of their official duties and
functions;

(3) Without prejudice to efficiency in the service, scholarship
to deserving employees on official time and at the expense of
the Office of the Solicitor General to enhance their academic
growth and upgrade their knowledge and skills. Scholars
under this provision shall be selected on the basis of
competitive examination;

(4) A provident fund which shall consist of contributions
made both by the Office of the Solicitor General and by its
lawyers and employees to a common fund for the payment of
benefits to such lawyers or employees or their heirs; and

(SJOTHER PERQUISITES AND BENEFITS AS MAY BE
DETERMINED BY THE SOLICITOR GENERAL IN THE
EXIGENCIES OF THE SERVICE.”

SECTION 3. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9417 is hereby deleted and
replaced by a new Section 10 to read as follows:

“SEC. 10. (Grant of Special Allowances. — The
Solicitor General, Assistant Solicitor General, Senior State
Solicitor, State Solicitors I and Associate Solicitors I to II
shall be granted special allowances in amounts to be
determined by the Secretary of the Department of Budget and
Management and the Solicitor General. The grant of special
allowances shall be implemented uniformly in such sums and
amounts and up to the extent only that can be supported by
the funding source specified in Section 11 hereof Provided,
That the said special allowance shall not exceed one hundred
percent (100%) for the basic salary of solicitors as provided in
Republic Act No. 6758, otherwise known as the Salary
Standardization Law.] SURVIVORSHIP BENEFITS. - UPON
DEATH OF A SOLICITOR GENERAL, ASSISTANT SOLICITOR
GENERAL, SENIOR STATE SOLICITOR OR STATE


SOLICITOR OF THE OSG, IF SAID OSG OFFICIAL HAD
RETIRED OR WAS IN THE SERVICE AT THE TIME OF
DEATH, THE SURVIVING LEGITIMATE SPOUSE AND
DEPENDENT CHILDREN OF SAID OSG OFFICIAL SHALL BE
ENTITLED TO RECEIVE ON A MONTHLY BASIS ALL THE
RETIREMENT BENEFITS THAT THE DECEASED WAS
RECEIVING OR ENTITLED TO RECEIVE AT THE TIME OF
DEATH UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE APPLICABLE
RETIREMENT LAWS THEN IN FORCE. A ‘DEPENDENT:
MEANS A_ LEGITIMATE, ILLEGITIMATE OR LEGALLY
ADOPTED CHILD WHO IS CHIEFLY DEPENDENT WITH THE.
ABOVE-ENUMERATED DECEASED OSG OFFICIALS IF
SUCH DEPENDENT IS NOT MORE THAN TWENTY-ONE (21)
YEARS OF AGE, UNMARRIED AND NOT GAINFULLY
EMPLOYED OR IF SUCH DEPENDENT, REGARDLESS OF
AGE, IS INCAPABLE OF SELF-SUPPORT BECAUSE OF
MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DEFECT. THE SAID SURVIVING
LEGITIMATE SPOUSE SHALL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE SUCH
RETIREMENT BENEFITS DURING HIS/HER LIFETIME OR
UNTIL HE/SHE REMARRIES: PROVIDED, THAT IF THE
SURVIVING LEGITIMATE SPOUSE IS RECEIVING BENEFITS
UNDER EXISTING RETIREMENT LAWS, HE/SHE SHALL
ONLY BE ENTITLED TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
AMOUNT PROVIDED FOR IN THIS ACT AND THE BENEFITS
HE/SHE IS RECEIVING: PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT SAID
BENEFITS SHALL BE GRANTED TO ALL AFOREMENTIONED
MEMBERS OF THE OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL
WHO DIED OR RETIRED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVITY OF
THIS ACT.

FUNDS FOR THE INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS
SECTION SHALL BE TAKEN OUT OF THE CURRENT
APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE RETIREMENT OF THE
OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE OFFICE OF THE
SOLICITOR GENERAL AND/OR SAVINGS OF SAID OFFICE.
THEREAFTER, SUCH SUMS AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR
THE CONTINUED IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS SECTION
SHALL BE INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL GENERAL
APPROPRIATIONS ACT.”

SECTION 4. Section 11 of Republic Act No. 9417 is hereby amended to
read as follows:

“SEC. 11. Funding. - The funds required for the
implementation of this Act, including those for health care
services, insurance premiums, professional, educational,
registration fees, contracted transportation benefits, the
other benefits above, shall be taken from:

() [Five percent (5%)] TWENTY PERCENT (20%) of
monetary awards OR ASSETS given by the


Court to client departments, agencies and
instrumentalities of the Government, including
those under court-approved _ compromise
agreements AND TWENTY PERCENT (20%) OF
ASSETS AWARDED TO THE GOVERNMENT IN
FORFEITURE PROCEEDINGS;

(ii) fifty percent (80%) of fees collected by the
Special Committee on Naturalization; and

(ii) all other income, fees and revenues earned and
collected by the Office of the Solicitor General.

For this purpose, the Office of the Solicitor
General is hereby authorized to charge deputation,
certification and other similar fees in the cases that it
handles.

The amounts collected pursuant to this section
shall constitute a trust fund in the name of the Office
of the Solicitor General to be managed and used by
the Solicitor General to carry out the provisions of this
Act.

THE OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL IS
LIKEWISE, AUTHORIZED TO BORROW FUNDS AND
DISPOSE OF ITS ASSETS TO CARRY OUT THE
PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.”

SECTION 5. Retroactivity. - The retirement benefits provided for under
Section 10 of this Act shall have retroactive effect as of the date of effectivity of
Republic Act No. 9417.

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions hereof not affected shall
continue in full force and effect.

SECTION 7. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
following its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers
of general circulation.

Approved,