DOJ objects to House measure streamlining agencies

MANILA, Philippines -  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has objected to a proposed law in the House of Representatives seeking to abolish the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

In a seven-page legal opinion released over the weekend, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II raised strong objections to House Bills 5216 and 5233 seeking to abolish OGCC and PCGG and transfer their respective functions under the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

Aguirre explained the OGCC and PCGG have special functions entirely different from the OSG. He said consolidating both agencies could result in conflict of interest in many cases.

“At present there are numerous cases wherein the OGCC and the OSG find themselves representing opposing sides with conflicting interest. The OGCC represents the GOCCs (government-owned and controlled corporations), while the OSG represents different agencies of the government like the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs, Department of Finance and the like,” Aguirre said in the legal opinion.

“If the BIR, for instance, assesses a tax on a GOCC like the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and the latter interposes as its defense that it is exempted from the tax, this conflict can only be resolved by going to court and it would be absurd if both entities will be represented by the Solicitor General,” he pointed out.

Aguirre further argued the OGCC should be recognized for its key role in economic achievements of the state-owned corporations.

As for the PCGG, Aguirre stressed President Duterte does not want the agency abolished but instead wants to expand and broaden its powers.

“Hence, this department sees nothing wrong with the OSG, OGCC and PCGG existing independently of each other. In order to strengthen the OSG, there is no need to abolish the OGCC and PCGG,” Aguirre said.

Apart from opposing the abolition of OGCC and PCGG, Aguirre also objected to the provisions in the bills seeking transfer of the OSG as an attached agency of the DOJ to the Office of the President as an autonomous office.

“It is our view that the OSG should continue to be an agency attached to the DOJ, mainly because the powers and functions of the OSG are devolved from this department’s power as the principal law agency of the government as legal counsel and representative thereof,” read the opinion.

“It is thus our position that all offices providing legal service, including the OSG, should be attached to the DOJ,” it added.

The OGCC supported this position of the DOJ in a separate position paper submitted to the House committee on justice, which will deliberate on the two bills.

The agency laid down its accomplishments and contributions to government coffers to prove its efficiency in performance of duties and show it does not deserve abolition.

The OGCC stressed that in the past six years, a total of P171 billion in dividends remittance by GOCC through its legal assistance has been recorded.

“Better corporate governance across the sector was also observed, thus lending credence to the adage that good governance in fact results in good economics. In all the GOCCs strides and successes over the years, the OGCC has been their effective partner quietly working alongside,” said the newly appointed Government Corporate Counsel Rudolf Philip Jurado.

The OGCC chief explained the agency has played a vital role in protecting the government’s multi-trillion assets and equities through its contextualized knowledge of client needs and its industry awareness over the past eight decades.

Jurado explained the GOCC sector is a P4.9-trillion portfolio and its contribution to national development cannot be denied. 

“It is thus logical that its statutory counsel which is tasked to provide them legal compass must not be abolished, but strengthened,” he suggested.

The DOJ and OGCC issued the opinions following the request of the House committee on justice.

Solicitor General Jose Calida earlier expressed support to the two bills that he believed would result in a leaner and cleaner bureaucracy in its legal services.

“Consolidating the legal services under the Office of the Solicitor General will eliminate redundant, duplicative and overlapping functions since the OSG, OGCC and PCGG only serve one client – the Republic of the Philippines,” Calida said.

He said the integration of the functions of the OGCC and PCGG would promote the use of alternative dispute mechanisms, avoid protracted court litigation, and encourage consistency in the legal position of government agencies.

The proposed law grants the OSG fiscal autonomy, which would allow Calida to acquire a new building to house additional lawyers and administrative personnel that will be hired as a consequence of the expansion.   

The measures were filed by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte and House justice panel chairman Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali.