PAO does not collaborate with private lawyers in handling court cases

The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) does not collaborate with private lawyers in the handling of cases before the courts, PAO Chief Persida V. Rueda Acosta said on Monday, Sept. 2.

In her Facebook post, Acosta said: "If an accused has private attorneys, PAO cannot extend legal aid to him or her unless he or she has no more income/capacity to pay his attorneys."

The PAO performs the functions of the then Citizen’s Legal Assistance Office (CLAO).

The CLAO was renamed the PAO pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9406 that was passed in 2006 and amended Executive Order No. 292, also known as the Administrative Code.

RA 9406 states that the PAO exercise the same powers as CLAO.

Under the Administrative Code, the PAO is “the principal law office of the Government in extending free legal assistance to indigent persons in criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases.”