Report Outline

Typical workday

- Judge : You wake up early in the morning. You come to court early and then when you get here you
prepare for trial. But preparing for trial actually is the day before. So like on Mondays, I prepare for trial
on Fridays. Right after my hearings, I start reading the cases that I’ll be hearing on Monday. I start
reading everything, start making my notes so that by Monday, when I come in at 8:00, I just put on my
robe, sign whatever orders then you start preparing for trial, then at 8:30, you open your court and
you start hearing all these cases.

Prosecutor: (Refer to slide)

: sobrang daming meetings, of course the regional prosecutor cannot attend all of them so,
kami dito sa regional office, we usually represent her in these meetings. Usually other government
agencies also request for lecturers for training and seminars for various laws or various issues, legal
issues. So, we also lecture or be resource speakers from different seminars or trainings, especially
sa PNP, DSWD, sometimes private sector din, schools, sa mga corporations, there are also some
request.

PAO: (Refer to Slide)

: That’s A GOOD THING ABOUT PUBLIC OFFICE, WE GO ONLY TO WORK DURING THE WEEKDAYS
SO WE HAVE THE WEEKENDS OFF.

Culture
Integrity, Credibility, Competence and Respect for Public Service

- Appearing in court. for me the notion of being a lawyer, not to look down on any other pursuits other lawyers
may take, but for me when you say lawyer is you should know how to appear in court and competently represent
your client, you should know how to argue and you should know when not to conduct cross examination and you
should also have a legal stratagem. you must always have a plan when you go to court. you need to prepare so
that your client will be afforded due process.

Support System
: In the office. im really happy to say that pao region xi, we have the youngest lawyers in all of pao so
almost all of our lawyers are millennial. so for us , since we are all of the same age, we have the same interests so
we talk , so we provide a support system for everyone. so if there is a pao lawyer who needs this kind of pleading,
we share via group chat and it really fosters a family. we really feel like a family here in pao. we take team bldg
activities, we alos go on conventions together. it’s a nice place to work, actually.
Very Supportive

- Closely related to support system in performing their duties, but as well as the non-office related
activities like team buildings, trainings and other stuff

Bureaucratic

-There’s a lot of things to observe. There’s a lot of rules to follow. There is a need to follow rules and
protocols to be able to achieve certain goals in the performance of duty. One cannot simply, decide for a
case without distinctly explaining and applying such laws. For lawyers, there are some procedures and
requirements that need to accomplish for trial or proceedings

Benefits & Privileges

Fulfillment in helping the needy

- You’re in a position to help and you’re in a position to advise

- Because our clientele is basically the indigents, those wo cannot defend themselves.
- It’s a thankless job. but the thing is, it brings satisfaction when you see families heal, when people
reconcile, and when people get the justice they feel that they deserve, it’s satisfying up to that point
(Judge T)
- When you are in kindergarten, when asked what you want to become when you grow up and when you say
lawyer, people will say because “kasi gusto ko ipagtanggol ang mga naapi.”(laughs) so i’m living the dream.
(Atty. Tinapay)

- It fills your heart to see that they are very grateful to you na wala silang binabayad sayo na binibigay.
Nakakataba ng puso. There’s no other measure na mapasalamatan ka nila, but they are felt gratitude.
Iyon iyong masarap sa job.
-

Training

- because it’s a break from my routinary work like dito sa office

- The privilege of being in a government, maybe you can do a lot of network because in a government
you meet a lot of other lawyer or other people outside the building. You meet different people like in
the DPW, DSWD, NEDA, people from the military, from the PNP so get to meet them, to attend
meetings with generals, directors, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries. SO, I think that would be one
of the privileges.

Working Hours
- You are only required to be in the office from 8-5. and that’s it, and specially in govt, all we are into in this
profession is the dispensation of justice. we receive no pecuniary interest from our clients, and certainly not
from other people. We have 16 cameras here so there is no way for corruption to persist in this office. Gift giving
is strictly not allowed, you will be booted out in the office if proven that you received gifts.

Compensation

- a Senior Assistant Prosecutor, I have a salary grade of 28. Under the SSL law, we had step 1 is 137,000
in a month and then, for me I’m already step 2 because 3 years na ako sa position ko, 139,000 plus
RATA, meron pa travels allowance so, 18,000 a month. Government salary is actually enticing.
- Public Attorney I, right now they are earning, I think, it’s 94k, that’s gross and they also receive allowances and
also the RATA, so that’s 10k. So I guess they earn a net of 95k that’s per month.
- Public attorney II, a net of around 110k. So that’s a lot specially if you’re a new lawyer.
- the PAO law , R.A. 9046 , we adopted their benefits by implication so all other benefits enjoyed by lawyers of
the DOJ will also be enjoyed by the PAO. So it’s just the same, whatever it is the salary of the incumbent public
attorney, will also be received by the retirees.
- Retirement of the Prosecutors is under the Republic Act 171. It is National Service Prosecution Act.
Under the act, the salary and other prosecutors’ benefit will be the monthly pension. So, when you
retire, your last salary, that will be your monthly pension. the results of the provision there, that if, let
say you retire then after 5 years there is an increase in the salary of your last precession, your monthly
salary will also increase. So, magsu-sweldo ka without a tax and a work.

Challenges and Risks

Bulk of work

- , THERES A HIGH VOLUME OF CASES BEING HEAR EVERY MONTH. YOU TEND TO GET BURNT OUT LIKE A
MAYFLY. SO IN MY JOB, ALTHOUGH IT’S A BIT OF A CHALLENGE. YOU SHOULD REALLY FIND AN AVENUE TO
RELEASE YOUR STRESS, STRESS MANAGEMENT. WHEN YOUR IN GOVT SERVICE YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME
STRESS MANAGEMENT, OTHERWISE, YOU WONT SEE RETIREMENT ANYMORE
- A HUGE VOLUME OF CASES SPECIALLY FOR THE PAO BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THERE ARE PRIVATE LAWYERS THEY
SELDOM APPEAR BECAUSE USUALLY WHO HANDLES MOST OF THE CASES IN COURT IS USUALLY THE PAO
- EVERY SEASON(LAUGHS) IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE CRIME DOES NOT STOP AND PEOPLE NEED TO BE
DEFENDED EVERYDAY. SO THERE IS NO PEAK SEASON FOR US. EVERYDAY IS A BATTLE

Difficulty of Cases

- It’s challenging when you make your decision because there are cases really, there are cases that are
fairly clean cut and you know where to decide on who’s winning like that but there are cases wherein,
you really can’t tell who’s winning until you write your decision, you take a closer look at the evidence,
and look at the law in comparison with the evidence, that’s only when you can really decide. It’s more
 difficult when it involves, you know you’re dealing with people’s money, property, liberty, and it comes
down to this, it’s difficult
- it becomes difficult. It becomes difficult also when you see families fighting. There are a lot of cases
wherein you see family against family, brother against brother, brother against sister, (everything I got,
every day?) even mother against child, child against parent, it’s difficult. But of course, when I have
cases like that, I try to make sure that I set aside time to talk to all them to see if it’s possible for them
to come to a settlement
- syempre there’s also pressure because you are lecturing or you are being a resource speaker among
your peers. Some of the prosecutors are more senior than you, older than you, younger in the practice
of law. So, sometimes may pressure

Application process

- the documentation that you need to submit just for the application by itself is already a very big task
and will take you some time just to gather all those.
- you could be disheartening to know that there are lot of requirements to enter in government service,
but just persist because when you start working, you’ll know it’s all worth it. Then, it’s very nice to have
a cause, I mean, representing the people of the Philippines

Life and Safety Risks

- It’s the risk that all lawyers, or prosecutors, and judges face everyday. It’s part of their hazards of the
work. Well, because you will decide a case and your decision, some people will like, some people will
never like.There’s some people who feel that kasalanan ng judge. That’s why there are some people
that na talagang “Talo

- Death threats if you handle high profile cases. There is always to yourself and to your family. If you heard
in the news, there are already several prosecutors who were killed. And then, someone close to home.
In the Davao region is the city prosecutor of Mati. He was shot when he arrived in the Hall of Justice of
Mati City, so iyan iyong dangers..
-

Contrast:

PROSECUTOR: of course, in public service, much is expected. You to get the office from at least 8 o’clock
to 5 o’clock. In private practice kasi, you are the boss. If you want to go to your office at 11 o’clock or
after lunch, it’s up to you, but in a private practice you are just as good as the work you put, meaning, if
you go to your office after lunch, iyon lang ang kita. Whereas in the public service, fix iyong sweldo mo e,
but you are expected to be there from 8 to 5. Then, for government service you have leaves. We have 30
paid leaves so, mas enticing. Whereas in private practice, especially when you are in a law office, at least,
not for the big once ha, doon sa mga small to medium, if wala ka sa office, wala kang sweldo, wala kang
kita. In government service, kahit na mag official leave ka, may suweldo ka pa rin. You can spend long
vacation. Be out Friday, be back on Tuesday you still have salaries. I think that’s one of the differences.

PAO: working in a private firm or in the private sector, you need/must do everything to win the case because you
are being paid by the client and at the drop of the hat, you could be replaced. So you need to get ahead of the curb.
So you need to be extra. Whereas in PAO, that kind of stress is removed because here, the client will enter and
although they do not pay you directly, you do not receive any compensation from them, you are being paid by the
government. In terms of financial stability, PAO can give you that, government office can give you that, and as to
experience, you get more experience from PAO because everyday you get to appear in court whereas in private
practice, like if you are a junior associate, usually, you are only made to tag along before the more seasoned lawyers
and usually it’s only for motion to dismiss or not really the important stuff because you have not proven your
competence. If you will be later on promoted, all you’re getting are marching orders from the partners of the firm
while in PAO, we will not hold your hand. You applied in the office, so we expect you to work but you do not expect
us to go with you to court, to prompt you what it is you need to do. You need to make some “ diskarte”, there is no
English translation for “diskarte” so that’s it. There’s carte-blanche for you, there is freedom for you to proceed with
trial as you see fit. Although your district head or superior will oversee if you’ve done something or what it is you
are doing, the discretion Is still left to you and how you handle your cases.

Application (additional infos)

- Judge: You have to apply in order for you to get this job. If you’re applying for an Regional Trial Court
judge an RTC judge, you need to have at least 10 years of practice, and if MTC or Municipal Trial Court,
you need to at least have 5 years of practice. Considering that I was already over 22 years of practice,
so I decided for the RTC because I was qualified for it.
- Yes, and that’s just to get… to narrow down the list or what we call shortlist. Because you apply to the
Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), they receive, process everything and come up with at least 5 persons.
Our Constitution says that in order for you to be appointed as a judge, the President must choose from
a list submitted by the JBC. So, what happens is that the JBC processes it, narrows down the list to a
few which they call a shortlist. And then, it is submitted to the president for him to decide who among
them will be appointed. Of course, the President can choose who among them, pero syempre, diyan
pumapasok yung dapat may backer ka, you have somebody backing you up in order for you to be
appointed.
- Prosecutor: Nitty gritty I because you’re here applying for a government position so syempre, there are
lots of requirements, especially, the clearances. You have to clearance from the Civil Service
Commission, Sandiganbayan, from the Ombudsman, from the NBI. Then, right now we already require
the….iyong psychiatric examination to the apprentice. Fortunately, during our time hindi pa siya
kailangan. So, iyon…then, you have get certificate of the admission to the bar from the office of the bar
confidant and others.
Quotable: Always treat everybody fairly whether if she be your client or he be in the opposite side. Treat
everybody fairly and with respect. You know in this job, because you talk about thousand of cases, you
will not rememeber people, the people whose cases you’ve decided, you’ll never remember them, how
many criminals you put to jail, you’ll never remember them

You should really study, you should really read. You should see to it that once you are a lawyer, you are worth
your salt. It means that once you are being paid for your service, your client must get the same quality or more out
of you. It’s not just compensation, it’s also for career. It’s for your self worth growth. I mean, if you want to be a
lawyer you should make sure that you are the best lawyer that you could possibly be because in our profession,
lawyers usually talk, and it’s good that when they talk about you, they talk about how good you are and not
because you’re an ambulance chaser or give out weird legal price