Legarda Receives Outstanding Lady Senator Award from PAO

The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) led by Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta has conferred on Senator Loren Legarda the Outstanding Lady Senator Award during the 6^th Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Accredited National Convention of Public Attorneys on September 21, 2017 at the Manila Hotel.

Legarda expressed her appreciation for the award, which was conferred in recognition of the Senator’s excellence and to show PAO’s appreciation of all the support she has shown to the agency.

“I thank the Public Attorney’s Office for this recognition and I assure continued support for our public lawyers,” said Legarda, who commended PAO lawyers for choosing the path of public service, which she described as a tireless and usually thankless job, urging everyone to never lose track of their passion in serving indigent Filipinos and ensuring that the law dispenses justice for all.

“As Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance who reviews how government agencies have been spending public funds, I realize that we really cannot sleep on our jobs as public servants because every hour, every day of delay in the provision of our services could mean life or death for the oppressed, the marginalized and the underprivileged. We should do our duty for the people and our country as if our life depended on it every single day,” Legarda said.

The Senator also committed her full support to the agency by providing adequate funds that will meet their needs and by enacting legislative measures that will benefit the entire institution.

“As affirmation of our support, we have already approved in the committee level the proposed 2018 budget of PAO under the Department of Justice, which includes among others, funding for the creation of new lawyer positions in the PAO; as well as the proposed 2018 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) where the P964.931 million budget for the new PAO-Central Office Building is lodged. We will ensure that this will be approved in the final version of the 2018 national budget to address the lack of public lawyers and the serious congestion problem of PAO Central Office,” she noted.

The Senator also welcomed the court ruling this year ordering the release of the retirement benefits of PAO lawyers. “It is but fitting to give our retired public attorneys, who have spent many years providing legal services to indigent litigants, the benefits they rightfully deserve,” Legarda concluded.