The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) is hopeful that its proposed merger with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) would not push through.

Government Corporate Counsel Rudolf Philip Jurado, said he feels hopeful that senators will see the abolition of the OGCC and its merger with the OSG as a “clear case of conflict of interest” following the hearing of the Senate committee on justice and human rights on Friday.

“The senators foresee that the abolition of the OGCC and merging its functions to the OSG will certainly present a clear case of conflict of interest considering that these two government law offices would usually find themselves at the opposing sides in court battles,” Jurado said in a statement on Friday.

“The chairman of the committee Senator Richard Gordon and former Justice Secretary and now Senator Franklin Drilon asked the most crucial question to the OSG on its proposal to abolish the OGCC: how will the OSG resolve the conflict of interest issue?” he added.

Jurado said there have been numerous cases in the past where the OGCC and the OSG found themselves representing opposing sides with conflicting interests.

“The OGCC represents GOCCs (government-owned and controlled corporations), while the OSG represents the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Department of Finance, among others,” he said.

In a position paper dated February 15, the OGCC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) opposed proposals in the House of Representatives seeking to abolish the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the OGCC.

“It is the considered view of the OGCC that the proposed bills will not serve the public interest but can potentially harm and distort the already working system in the government,” the position paper said.

“We humbly pray that this committee will support our advocacy of preventing the abolition of the OGCC,” the position paper added.  /muf

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