Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. _ 4496

Introduced by Rep. LAWRENCE LEMUEL H. FORTUN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to strengthen and expand the functions of the Legal Staff in the
Department of Justice (DOJ) which shall be known as the Office of the Chief State Counsel. The
current Legal Staff of the DOJ plays a pivotal role in the country’s international commitments
and economic development.

The enactment of Republic Act No. 2705 on June 18, 1960 saw the creation of the Legal
Staff that is headed by the Chief Legal Counsel with the assistance of thirty (30) attorneys. It was
mandated to “assist the Secretary of Justice in the performance of his duties as Attorney General
of the Philippines, and as ex-officio legal adviser of government corporations or enterprises.”
The Legal Staff then was mainly responsible for the issuance by the Secretary of Justice of
various written legal opinions requested by government entities, instrumentalities and offices.

Over the years, the Legal Staff has evolved and been involved in more undertakings of
different fields. It adjudicates and arbitrates conflicts or controversies between or among
government offices and agencies, resolves the legality of tax ordinances or measures, reviews
citizenship and immigration cases, implements the anti-dummy law, negotiates and executes
executive agreements and treaties, and determines the status of refugees in compliance with our
commitment to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the
1954 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.

Today, the Legal Staff is engaged in more government programs and international
undertakings unprecedented in its history. Its indispensable participation is seen in matters
affecting not only foreign trade, financing and investments in the Philippines, but also in
international cooperation relating to extradition, mutual legal assistance, trafficking, financial
crimes, and irregular migration.

The multifaceted and demanding role required of State Counsels, which has been
unheralded and overlooked over the years, can efficiently and effectively be met by recognizing
the exceptional role of the Office, strengthening its functions, expanding the Office, augmenting
benefits, and upgrading employee skills.

Presently, the Legal Staff is undermanned and in dire need of organizational upgrading in
order to function optimally. The highest point in the career of a State Counsel is perhaps the
position of Chief State Counsel. Yet, it is unfortunate that the counterparts of the Chief State
Counsel - the Government Corporate Counsel in the Office of the Government Corporate
Counsel and the Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General — enjoy the rank of
‘Associate Justice and Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals, respectively. The corresponding
judicial ranking proposed for State Counsel augurs well with the fact that the Office is a veritable


training ground for lawyers in very special fields of law. To mention a few who worked in the
Legal Staff of the Department of Justice and rose to prominence in the legal field are former
Supreme Court Justice Florentino Feliciano, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales,
former Supreme Court Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, former Supreme Court Justice
Leonardo Quisumbing and former Supreme Court Justice Minerva P. Gonzaga-Reyes.

The counterparts of State Counsels in the DOJ are the State Prosecutors who were
strengthened and rationalized, and given the same benefits in R.A. No. 10071 in 2010. It is high-
time that the unheralded and overlooked State Counsels of the Department of Justice likewise be
given the same benefits as that of their counterparts in the Department.

Equally important is the pressing necessity to augment the salaries of the State Counsels
who are already overburdened due to the unforgiving demands of their work. Inevitably, the
Legal Staff has been unsuccessfil in retaining and maintaining the best legal minds, and thus
continue to suffer from professional exodus to more economically rewarding offices. Of similar
economic situation as the State Counsels are the administrative personnel of the Legal Staff who,
over the years, are equally burdened by the voluminous work in the Office. Overworked and
underpaid, they are undeniably the strategic partners who facilitate the work of the State
Counsels. Any economic gain by the State Counsels should cascade to, and be shared with, the
administrative personnel.

This bill has been filed in the 15", 16" and 17" Congresses which signifies its importance
and urgency. In re-filing this proposed measure in the 18" Congress, it is sincerely hoped that
this will finally gain enough support for its passage into a law in order to empower and recognize
our State Counsels as they perform fully and effectively their mandates.

‘The foregoing are the compelling reasons for the enactment of this proposed legislation.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. edge

Introduced by Rep. LAWRENCE LEMUEL H. FORTUN

AN ACT STRENGTHENING
THE LEGAL STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
RENAMING IT AS THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF STATE COUNSEL, REDEFINING,
EXPANDING, RATIONALIZING AND FURTHER PROFESSIONALIZING ITS
ORGANIZATION, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “State Counsel Act.”

SEC. 2. Office of the Chief State Counsel. — The Legal Staff created under Republic Act (RA)
No. 2705, as amended by R.A. No. 4152, shall be renamed as the Office of the Chief State
Counsel (“OCSC”).

‘The OCSC shall be under the supervision and control of the Secretary of Justice and shall
assist the Secretary of Justice in the exercise of his functions as Attorney General of the
Philippines and ex officio legal adviser of departments, agencies and instrumentalities, including
government-owned or controlled corporations, or enterprises and their subsidiaries.

SEC. 3. Powers and Functions, ~ All matters concerning the following shall be referred to and
acted upon by the Office of the Chief State Counsel:

(a) Requests for legal opinion;

(b) Requests for opinion/comments on the legality and validity of foreign loan
agreements and guarantee agreements, and in certain cases, agreements related to
domestic borrowings;

(c) Requests for comments and position papers on proposed legislations;

(4) Affirmation of Orders of the Bureau of Immigration concerning recognition of
Filipino citizens or cancellation of alien certificate of registration;

(©) Appeals or petitions for review on any action in the exercise of the quasi-judicial
function of the attached agencies under the control and supervision of the Secretary of
Justice;


(f) Administrative settlement or adjudication of disputes, claims and controversies
between or among government offices, agencies and instrumentalities, including
government-owned and controlled corporations;

(g) Legality and validity of tax ordinances and revenue measures;

(h) Applications for special authority to employ foreign nationals under Commonwealth
Act (C.A) No. 108 entitled “An Act to Punish Acts of Evasion of the Laws on the
Nationalization of Certain Rights, Franchises or Privileges” or the Anti-Dummy Law, as
amended;

(i) Applications for determination of refugee and statelessness status of foreign nationals,
as well as protection matters of refugees and stateless persons;

() Applications for, and implementation of, special non-immigrant visas which may be
issued by the President under Sec. 47(a)(2) of C.A. No. 613 entitled “An Act to Control
and Regulate the Immigration of Aliens into the Philippines”, otherwise known as the
Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended;

(k) Applications for validation of land titles filed pursuant to Presidential Decree (P.D.)
No. 1271 entitled “An Act Nullifying the Decrees of Registration and Certificates of Title
Covering Lands Within the Baguio Townsite Reservation”;

(D Requests on matters involving the implementation of treaties on mutual legal
assistance in criminal matters, extradition and transfer of sentenced persons;

(m) Cases for representation before the courts relating to extradition and mutual legal
assistance in criminal matters;

(n) Requests for legal advice from other government agencies in the negotiations and
implementation of international agreements, including participation in the negotiations,
whenever so requested;

(0) Negotiations and implementation of international agreements where the Department
of Justice (DOJ) is the Central Authority or implementing agency, including bilateral,
regional or multilateral treaties and conventions within the purview of the DOJ’s
mandate or function;

(p) Requests for legal advice from other government agencies in the negotiations and
implementation of international agreements, including participation in the negotiations,
whenever so requested;

(q) Supervision of the Department Law Library as well as its personnel; and

(f) Such other functions and duties as may be delegated by the Secretary of Justice.

SEC. 4. Expansion, upgrading and creation of positions. ~ The OCSC is hereby expanded and
their positions upgraded as follows:

Erom New Position To
Old Position [No.of | Salary Fle upg No. of | Salary
Position | Grade um Position | Grade
Chief State Chief State Counsel SG 30
Counsel td a step 8
Assistant Chief 2___| SG29 | Deputy Chief State Counsel | 4 SG 30



State Counsel
State Counsel V 6 SG 28 | Senior State Counsel 10 SG 29
State Counsel IV Assistant Senior State
12 SG 27 (omer 15 SG 28
State Counsel III 12 SG 26_| State Counsel 20 SG 27
State Counsel II 12 SG 25 _| Associate State Counsel III 20 SG 26
State Counsel I 15 SG 24 | Associate State Counsel II 20 SG 25
Associate State Counsel I 10 SG 24
60 100

The Chief State Counsel and the Deputy Chief State Counsels shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines. All other State Counsels and administrative personnel shall be
appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon recommendation by the Promotion and Selection
Board to be chaired by the Chief State Counsel.

Appointments of the State Counsels shall be deemed permanent upon compliance with
the prescribed qualification standards under the law. The State Counsels occupying the positions
affected by the changes in this Act at the time of its approval shall thereafter occupy and
discharge the duties and functions of the upgraded positions and receive the corresponding
salary, benefits and privileges without necessity of new appointment.

In the interest of greater efficiency in the discharge of its functions, the OCSC may be
organized into divisions and units, as may be necessary.

There shall be positions created for administrative personnel equivalent to at least one (1)
support staff for every two (2) State Counsels.

SEC. 5. Standards, Compensation and Benefits. - The qualifications for appointment, rank,
prerogatives, salaries, allowances, emoluments, and privileges of State Counsels shall be the
same as that of their counterparts in the Office of the Solicitor General, specified as follows:

Chief State Counsel - Assistant Solicitor General
Deputy Chief State Counsel - Assistant Solicitor General
Senior State Counsel : Senior State Solicitor

Deputy Senior State Counsel - State Solicitor II

State Counsel - State Solicitor I

Associate State Counsel III - Associate Solicitor IIT

Associate State Counsel II - Associate Solicitor IT z
Associate State Counsel I - Associate Solicitor I

No person shall be appointed as Chief State Counsel or Deputy Chief State Counsel
unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and has been engaged in the practice of law
in the Philippines for at least fifteen (15) years.

Senior State Counsels must be members of the Philippine Bar for at least ten (10) years
prior to their appointment while Deputy Senior State Counsels and State Counsels must be
members of the Philippine Bar for at least five (5) years prior to their appointment.

The Secretary of Justice shall determine the qualifications, prerogatives and
responsibilities of Associate State Counsels.

All salaries, benefits and privileges of the lawyers of the OCSC granted under this Act
shall further be increased to match any corresponding increase in the salaries, benefits and


privileges subsequently granted to their respective counterparts in the Office of the Solicitor
General.

SEC. 6. Retirement Benefits. - When a State Counsel, who has rendered at least fifteen (15)
years of service either in the OCSC or in any branch of government, or in both, retires for having
attained the age of sixty-five (65) years or resigns by reason of incapacity to discharge the duties
of his/her office, he/she shall, during the residue of his/her natural life, in the manner hereinafter
provided, receive a retirement pension based on the highest monthly salary, plus the highest
monthly aggregate of transportation, living and representation allowances, which he/she was
receiving at the time of his/her retirement or resignation.

When a State Counsel has attained the age of sixty (60) years and has rendered at least
fifteen (15) years of service in government, the last five (5) years of which must have been
continuously rendered in the OCSC, he/she shall likewise be entitled to retire and receive during
the residue of his/her natural life the same benefits provided for in this section: Provided,
however, that those with less than fifteen (15) years of service in the government shall be entitled
to a pro-rata pension computed as follows:

No. of years Basic Pay Plus the Highest
In Government Monthly Aggregate of

x Transportation, Living and
15 years Representation Allowances

SEC. 7. Conditions. — To maintain entitlement to the pension herein provided, no State Counsel,
during the time he/she is receiving said pension, shall appear as counsel before any judicial or
quasi-judicial agency in any civil case wherein the Government or any agency, subdivision, or
instrumentality thereof is an adverse party, or in any criminal case wherein any officer or
employee of the Government is accused of an offense committed in relation to his/her office, or
collect any fee for his/her appearance in any administrative proceedings to maintain an interest
adverse to the government, whether national, provincial, or municipal or to any of its legally
constituted officers. When a State Counsel covered under this Act shall assume an elective
public office, he/she shall not, upon assumption of office and during his/her term, retrieve the
monthly pension or any of the allowance due to himv/her.

SEC. 8. Automatic Increase. — All pension benefits of retired State Counsels of the OCSC shall
be automatically increased whenever there is an increase in the salary and allowance of the same
position from which he retired.

SEC. 9. Retroactivity. - The benefits mentioned in Sections 4, 5 and 8 hereof shall be granted to
all those who retired prior to the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 10. Applicability. - All benefits heretofore extended under Republic Act No. 910, as
amended, and all other benefits that may be extended by the way of amendment thereto shall
likewise be given to the State Counsels covered by this Act.

SEC. 11. Authority to Collect Fees. - The OCSC is hereby authorized to assess and collect fees
for various services rendered in accordance with Section 54, Chapter 12, Book IV of Executive
Order No. 292, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987, and other laws. These
collections shall be deposited as a Special Trust Fund which shall be administered by the
Secretary of Justice as special allowance for lawyers of the OCSC who are actually performing
the functions under Section 3 hereof duly certified by the Chief State Counsel; Provided, That
such special allowances shall not exceed One Hundred Percent (100%) of the basic salary as
provided under Republic Act No. 6758 otherwise known as the Salary Standardization Law, as
amended.


SEC. 12. Seminar and Other Related Fees. — Subject to availability of funds, fees for relevant
seminars, as well as professional membership fees for lawyers, registration fees and related
miscellaneous expenses incurred in completing the mandatory continuing legal education
(MCLE) shall be borne by the OCSC.

SEC. 13. Franking Privilege. - The OCSC may transmit through ordinary mail and/or registered
mail with return card, free of charge, all official communications and papers directly connected
with the conduct of its duties and functions.

SEC. 14. Appropriation. — There is hereby appropriated initially the sum of Fifty Million Pesos
(P50,000,000.00) from the funds of the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated for the
initial implementation of this Act. Thereafter, the amount needed for the implementation of this
law shall be appropriated in the budget of the Department of Justice under the Annual General
Appropriations Act.

SEC. 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ Within sixty (60) days from the approval of
this Act, the Department of Justice and the Department of Budget and Management shall
promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
Act.

SEC. 16. Separability Clause. — If any of the provisions of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 17. Repealing Clause. — Provisions of Republic Act No. 2705, as amended by R.A. No.
4152, and other provisions of E.O. No. 292 (Section 7, Chapter 2, Title III, Book IV,
Administrative Code of 1987) are hereby repealed. All other issuances inconsistent with any
provision of this Act are likewise hereby repealed, amended and/or modified accordingly.

SEC. 18. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,