Escudero wants more lawyers for PAO

MANILA, Philippines — Sorsogon governor and senatorial aspirant Francis Escudero is calling on the government to beef up the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) since the current pool of lawyers under the agency is not enough to cater to indigent Filipinos.

Escudero, who is a lawyer by profession, said that PAO should design programs that will encourage more lawyers to join their team of public defenders.

“Napakarami sa ating mga kababayan ang nangangailangan ng libreng abogado mula sa PAO. Dapat itong matugunan ng pamahalaan upang masiguradong mabilis na gumugulong ang hustisya,” Escudero said in a statement on Thursday.

(There are a lot of Filipinos who need free legal assistance from PAO. The government should address this to ensure the swift provision of justice.)

Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero (Photo from Sorsogon Provincial Information Office)

Citing PAO chief Persida Acosta, Escudero said that the more than 2,000 lawyers nationwide under the agency is not enough.

Citing reports, Escudero said a PAO lawyer handles an average of 5,300 clients per year.

“Nguni’t kung titingnan natin ang buong bilang, hindi sapat ito upang mas maraming mapaglingkuran nang epektibo ang mas nakararami nating mga kababayan na walang sapat na kakayahan na kumuha ng abogado o makapag-kunsulta man lang,” Escudero said.

(If we will look at the numbers, this is not enough to effectively serve our countrymen who cannot afford a lawyer—even for a consultation.)

“This is too much too handle. Hindi naman mga superman at superwoman ang ating mga abogado sa PAO (Our lawyers from PAO are not superman or superwoman),” he added.

Further, Escudero argued that the number of public attorneys should also be rationally distributed based on the number of Regional Trial Court (RTC) branches concentration to help eliminate the backlog in the courts.

Escudero, who previously served as a senator, chaired the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights from 2007 to 2013.

gsg