The Duterte administration was told to “rethink” plans to abolish the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and, instead, expand the functions of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Wednesday raised an alarm over what he described as a “staggering” 730,000 pending cases before the OSG, suggesting that Malacañang must move to “strengthen the government’s principal legal defender.”
Drawing from his experience as a former secretary of justice, Drilon voiced doubts the move to dissolve the PCGG and OGCC, and pass on the two agencies’ tasks to the OSG, would achieve its objective.
The senator acknowledged the Office of the President’s prerogative, but suggested Palace officials review the plan further. “We agree on streamlining and right-sizing as a matter policy, but we should look at the efficiency, Drilon said.
He noted that the OSG, which shall absorb the PCGG and OGCC, already “has its both hands full.”
In a news statement, the senate minority leader suggested that both the Duterte administration officials concerned, as well as members of congressional justice committees, “take a second look at the proposals” to abolish the PCGG and OGCC and transfer their functions to the OSG.
Describing the situation as “staggering and worrisome,” Drilon pointed out that over 730,000 cases that are pending before the OSG, of which 374,424 are active cases.
He added that this means “a lawyer in the OSG would have to attend to about 1,400 cases,” as it was earlier shown there are only 240 lawyers in the OSG at present, even as the OSG has 390 authorized plantilla positions.
“I can’t imagine a lawyer handling 1,400 cases,” Drilon said, warning that the “efficiency and batting average of the OSG would suffer if we do not address it.”
He asked: “Should we burden the OSG even more by giving it more responsibilities than what it could handle, because it is obvious the agency is overwhelmed and understaffed? I doubt that transferring the functions of the PCGG and OGCC to the OSG would solve the problem.”
Drilon suggested that the functions of the OSG should instead be reviewed, citing, for a start, “the OSG’s mandate to intervene in marital cases.”
“The OSG is tasked to represent the state’s interest in preserving the institution of marriage,” the senator said, adding, “It determines whether there is collusion between the parties—a function that Drilon believes the judge can already perform in the course of the proceedings.”
He further noted that, presently, “there are approximately 145,000 marriage-related cases pending in the OSG.”
The senator stressed that remedial legislation should also remove the burden of intervening in marital cases from the OSG and allow it “to focus on more critical cases involving the government.” Drilon said he intends to “submit a proposal to remove from the OSG the burden of intervening in marital cases, leaving the responsibility to the judiciary.”