THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
S. No. 
225 
lnfroduced by Sen. Manuel "Lifo" M. Lapid 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) is the law office of the Republic 
of the Philippines. It is the biggest law firm in the country and has the biggest 
case load. It represents the Government - its departments, agencies, and 
instrumentalities, and its officials and agents, who are suing or are being sued in 
their official capacities, before the local court system and in international fora on 
matters requiring the services of a lawyer. It is also the counsel of the People of 
the Philippines before the appellate courts. 
The OSG is an "independent and autonomous office," headed by the 
Solicitor General "who is the principal law officer and legal defender of the 
government" (Sec. 34, Chap. 12, Title 111, E.O. 292). As such, the Solicitor 
General is solely responsible for the conduct of government litigation and other 
fields of advocacy. 
The OSG is a veritable training ground for advocates, and future judges 
and justices. As observed by the Supreme Court, "[olne would be hard put to 
name a single legal group or law firm that can match the expertise, experience, 
resources, staff and prestige of the OSG which were painstakingly built up for 
almost a century" (Gonzales vs. Chavez, 205 SCRA 816). 
The legal staff of the Solicitor General consists of one hundred sixty-six 
(166) lawyers-the 
Solicitor General included. 
The Office has fifteen (15) 
divisions with ten (IO) lawyers each. An Assistant Solicitor General heads every 
division. Unbelievably, with a total office caseload of around two hundred fifty 
thousand (250,000) cases, each solicitor or associate solicitor in the OSG 
handles an average of more than one thousand seven hundred (1,700) cases! 
Compare this to their counterparts in private law firms who handle an average of 
fifty (50) to a hundred (100) cases each. For the year 2005 alone, OSG lawyers 
filed almost fifteen thousand (1 5,000) briefs, comments, complaints and reports. 
Theirs is an absolutely herculean task, considering that OSG jurisdiction covers 
the whole length and breadth of the Philippines with occasional calls for duty 
abroad. Add to that the numerous appellate court cases they have to handle. 
Like all good soldiers in the service of their country, OSG lawyers leave 
the comforts and security of home and family in all kinds of weather and 
conditions, sometimes against formidable odds, to carry out their duties and 
functions on behalf of the Republic. There is a limit to human endurance, though. 


Despite the voluminous workload, the physically amd mentally demanding, 
time-consuming tasks they must accomplish and the risks that confront them, 
OSG employees receive remuneration which is a pittance compared to the 
earnings of a private law practitioner or some lawyers in certain government 
offices as may be gleaned from the Endnotes'. For example, the Chief Public 
Attorney has a salary grade of 31 while the Solicitor General's is only 30. And 
yet, under the law, the Solicitor General's position has long been equivalent to 
that of the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals (or an Associate Justice of 
the Supreme Court) which has a salary grade of 31. 
What could be more 
inequitable than a government lawyer rendering legal assistance to indigent 
citizens of the Republic being paid more than the legal representative of the 
sovereign Republic itself? Again, the salary of an entry level OSG lawyer 
approximates the salary of a courier or messenger in the Government Service 
Insurance System (GSIS). 
If exemplary performance is to be consistently achieved by the Republic's 
counsel, then conditions obtaining in the OSG must change. The legal staff must 
be expanded by increasing the existing divisions to thirty (30) with a 
corresponding increase in general and administrative support personnel and 
provision for ample office space. OSG lawyers must be accorded the benefits 
and privileges befitting the dignity and stature of legal representatives of the 
Republic to boost their morale. These lawyers must be shielded from the 
temptations of corruption and lackadaisical attitude towards work. Their positions 
must be upgraded and their material and psychological needs addressed to 
inspire and energize them to continue excelling in their work. 
The administrative staff in the Office of the Solicitor General undoubtedly 
share in the burdens and responsibilities of the legal staff; consequently, they too 
must share in the benefits and privileges of the latter. 
The OSG has been hampered in its efforts to create a career in advocacy 
essential to maintaining a corps of lawyers focused solely on a crusade to serve 
the very purpose for which it was established. Because of its low salary scale, 
the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has a hard time convincing its lawyers 
to continue working for the Government: It would be the height of infamy if the 
Government lost some of its cases by default for lack of legal representatives to 
handle them. 
The OSG has been losing its lawyers to private law firms, 
multinationals and big corporations which have unlimited resources in hiring the 
best lawyers. Unless positive measures are adopted, the transfer of legal talents 
will continue without any hope of replacement. Strengthening the OSG by 
improving employees' working conditions would stem the exodus of lawyers and 
continue to attract good ones to join its legal staff. 
The Senate and the House of Representatives, both revered clients of the 
OSG, can speed up the wheels of change running towards efficiency and 
excellence in the Government's legal service by their 


' Endnotes 
OFFICE 
COMPENSATION OF SOME HEADS OF OFFICE 
SALARY 
POSITION 
GRADE 
MONTHLY SALARY 
Supreme Court 
Supreme Court 
Chief Justice 
32 
P46,200 
Ass. Justice 
31 
P40,425 
* Court of Appeals 
Pres. Justice 
Court of Appeals 
Ass. Justice 
COMPENSATION OF LAWYERS OF THE 
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL 
31 
P40,425 
30 
P28,875 
31 
3 Public Attorney's 
Chief Public 
Office 
ttorney 
P40,425 
WSlTlON 
SALARY GRADE 
MONTHLY SALARY 
Solicitor General 
30 
P 28,875 
Asst. Sol. General 
29 
P 25,333 
Solicitor 111 
2a 
P 24,359 
Solicitor I 
26 
P 22,521 
Assoc. Solicitor 111 
25 
I;r21,655 
Assoc. Solicitor II 
22 
P 19,251 
Assoc. Solicitor I 
l a  
P 15,841 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
S E N A T E  
hi 
Introduced by Sen. Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of fhe 
Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. DECLARATION OF POLICY. - It is the declared policy of 
the State to protect the rights and promote the welfare of the Filipino worker. 
Pursuant to this policy and to ensure efficient and effective performance in the 
legal service of the Government, an expansion and streamlining shall be effected 
in the Office of the Solicitor General. 
The legal and administrative staff of the Office of the Solicitor General 
shall be increased and their positions upgraded to adequately meet the 
Republic's burgeoning need for legal services. The litigation and other skills of 
lawyers of the Office of the Solicitor General shall be promoted, the benefits of 
employees augmented and their welfare enhanced. Academic growth and the 
honing of legal and communications expertise shall be encouraged. 


SECTION 2. EXPANSION. - The staff of the Office of the Solicitor 
General shall be increased and their positions upgraded. From fifteen (15) legal 
divisions, there shall be thirty (30) legal divisions in the Office of the Solicitor 
General, with a corresponding increase in the general and administrative support 
personnel and provision for ample office space. Each division, permanently 
headed by an Assistant Solicitor General, shall consist of ten (IO) lawyers and 
such other personnel as may be necessary for the office to effectively carry out 
its functions. 
The present administrative structure of the Office of the Solicitor General 
shall be reorganized into the Financial Management Services, Docket and Case 
Management Services and the Human Resource Management Services. Each of 
these shall be composed of the necessary divisions and sections. 
The legal and non-legal staff of the Office of the Solicitor General 
occupying the positions affected by the changes embodied in this Act at the time 
of its approval shall thereafter occupy the upgraded positions mandated by this 
Act, and discharge the duties and functions of their new positions and receive the 
corresponding salary increases, allowances and benefits appurtenant thereto, 
without the necessity of any new appointment. 
SECTION 3. STANDARDS. - 
The Solicitor General shall have cabinet 
rank and the same qualifications for appointment, rank, prerogatives, salaries, 
allowances, benefits and privileges as the Presiding Justice of the Court of 
Appeals; an Assistant Solicitor General, those of an Associate Justice of the 
Court of Appeals. 


The 
qualifications for 
appointment, rank, prerogatives, salaries, 
allowances, benefits and privileges of Solicitors shall be the same as judges, 
specified as follows: 
Solicitor 111 - Regional Trial Court Judge 
Solicitor I1 - Metropolitan Trial Court Judge 
Solicitor I - City Trial Court Judge 
The Solicitor General shall determine the qualifications, prerogatives and 
responsibilities of the Associate Solicitors. 
SECTION 4. COMPENSATION. - The basic monthly compensation of 
the Solicitor General, Assistant Solicitors General, Solicitors and Associate 
Solicitors shall be as follows: 
The positions, salaries, allowances and benefits of non-legal personnel in 
the Office of the Solicitor General shall be raised to the level of their counterparts 
in the Court of Appeals. 


Subject to the availability of funds, the salaries, allowances, benefits and 
privileges of personnel of the Office of the Solicitor General granted under this 
Act may be further increased to match any corresponding increase in salaries, 
allowances, benefits and privileges later granted to their respective counterparts 
in the Court of Appeals. 
SECTION 5. HEALTH CARE SERVICES. - Subject to the availability 
of funds, the Office of the Solicitor General shall provide its employees with 
health care services through a health maintenance organization (HMO). 
Expenses for the mandatory annual executive check-up of the Solicitor General, 
the Assistant Solicitors General, and Services Heads, shall be for the account of 
the office. 
SECTION 6. INSURANCE COVERAGE. - All employees shall be 
covered by accident and life insurance policies procured by the office during local 
and foreign travels while in the performance of their official duties and functions. 
SECTION 7. SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER BENEFITS. - Without 
prejudice to efficiency in the service, deserving employees shall be allowed to 
avail of educational scholarships, grants and other privileges, local and foreign, 
on official time, for their academic growth, to update their knowledge and hone 
their expertise. 
Fees for relevant seminars, as well as professional membership fees for 
lawyers, registration fees, and related miscellaneous expenses they incur in 
completing the mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) course shall be 
borne by the office. Professional membership, registration fees, including those 
for 
mandatory continuing professional education 
(CPE), and related 


miscellaneous expenses of other employees holding positions for which a 
professional license is required by the office shall also be borne by the Office of 
the Solicitor General. 
Subject to the availability of funds, employees shall be provided with 
contracted transportation services until such time that the office can procure 
additional motor vehicles for this purpose. 
As in Executive Order No. 292, the Revised Administrative Code of 1987, 
employees of the Office of the Solicitor General are allowed to receive honoraria 
and allowances from client departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the 
Government. In addition, the legal staff of the Office of the Solicitor General are 
allowed to charge and receive appearance fees from the said bodies. 
The Solicitor General may, subject to the availability of funds, grant 
employees of the Office of the Solicitor General such other perquisites and 
benefits as the exigencies of the service may require. 
SECTION 8. FRANKING PRIVILEGE. - All official mail matters and 
telegrams of the Office of the Solicitor General addressed for delivery within the 
Philippines shall be received, transmitted, and delivered free of charge: provided, 
that such mail matters when addressed to private persons or non-government 
offices shall not exceed one hundred and twenty (120) grams. 
SECTION 9. PROVIDENT FUND. - The The Office of the Solicitor 
General shall establish its own 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. 
SECTION I O .  FUNDING. - 
The funds required for the implementation of 
this Act, including those for health care services, insurance premiums, 
professional, educational, registration fees, contracted transportation services, 
the other perquisites and benefits above, shall be taken from twenty-five percent 
(25%) of monetary awards given by the Courts to client departments, agencies 
and instrumentalities of the Government, including those under court-approved 
compromise agreements; fifty percent (50%) of fees collected by the Special 
Committee on Naturalization, existing funds in the name of the Office of the 
Solicitor General and 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. 
SECTION 11. IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS. -Within 
sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, the Solicitor General shall 
promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the 
provisions of this Act. 
SECTION 12. APPROPRIATIONS. - The initial amount needed to 
implement office streamlining and physical expansion shall be taken from the 
funds and budget of the Office of the Solicitor General. Thereafter, such amounts 


as may be necessary to fully implement this Act shall be included in the Annual 
General Appropriations Act. 
SECTION 13. REPEALING CLAUSE. - Pertinent provisions of 
Executive Order 292, the Revised Administrative Code of 1987, as amended, 
and all laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are 
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or 
amended accordingly. 
SECTION 14. EFFECTIVITY. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen 
days from its publication in two (2) 
national newspapers of general 
days from the 
(15) 
circulation. The publication shall be done within thirty (30) 
approval of this Act.