List of Services Offered by the Public Attorney's Office

The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) is the principal law office of  the Government mandated under Republic Act No. 9406 to independently render legal services free of charge to indigent persons in criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases. It exists to provide provide the indigent sector access  to counsel at the time of need and to implement the constitutional guarantee of free  access to courts, due process, and equal protection of the laws.  In the exigency of the service, it may be called upon by proper government authorities to render such service to other persons, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations. Below are the list services provided by PAO:

Regular Services

1.  Legal Representation in courts (RTC, MTC, MTCCs, CA, SC) and quasi-judicial bodies such    as NLRC, Office of the Prosecutors, POEA, DARAB, PRC, etc.

2.  Representation of Indigent Accused in Court (Criminal Cases)

3.  Preparation of responsive pleadings and Representation of Indigent defendant in Ordinary Civil Actions

4.  Preparation of responsive pleadings and Representation of Indigent defendant/respondent in Special Proceedings

5.  Preparation of responsive pleadings and Representation of Indigent defendant/respondent in Special Civil Actions

6.   Preparation and filing of Complaint in Ordinary Civil Action

7.   Preparation and filing of Complaint/petition in Special Civil Actions

8.   Preparation and filing of petition in Special Proceedings

9.   Representation of employee-complainant in Labor Cases

10.  Representation of indigent in Administrative Cases

11.   Preparation of Affidavits and  Representation of Indigents in preliminary investigation

Limited Services

1.  Documentation

          a.    Preparation of affidavits

          b.    Preparation of  pleadings, petitions, motions, etc.

          c.    Administration of oath and notarial services

2. Legal Assistance during inquest and custodial investigation

Non-judicial Services

1.   Legal advice thru telephone, print media, radio programs, email and letter (postal system)

2.   Responses to texts messages

3.   Legal counselling for walk-in clients

4.   Mediation and conciliation

5.   24/7 central office counselling via hotline : +(63-2)-9299436

Outreach Acitivities

1.    Barangay Outreach and legal Information Dissemination Program

2.    Jail Visitation and Decongestion Program

3.    Media linkage activities

Forensic Services

1. Forensic Laboratory services

2. Forensic Education and Training

3. Forensic Analysis and Opinion

4. Crime Scene Investigation and Reconstruction

5. Specialized Forensic Services

            a.  Forensic Medicine

            b.  Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

            c.  Forensic and Evidence Photography

            d.  Forensic Archaeology (Exhumation and Crime Scene Documentation)

            e.  Forensic Osteological Analysis

            f.  Identification

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SEC Extended the Deadline for Amendment of the Principal Address of Corporations and Partnerships

On January 7, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Memorandum Circular No. 1, series of 2014, which extends the period for filing the applications for amendment of the articles of incorporation or articles of partnership in relation to the principal office address until June 30, 2015.

Prior to 2006, the SEC allowed registrant corporations and partnerships to indicate a general address only as their principal office address. Corporations and partnerships located within Metro Manila or a certain city, town, municipality just state in their Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Partnerships "Metro Manila" or the name of the city or municipality as their corporate address or principal place of business, without indicating the exact street number, street name, building, and barangay where their office is actually located. This practice was adopted so that in case the corporation or partnership subsequently transferred its place of business, it will no longer amend its Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Partnerships, as the case may be.

On February 16, 2006, the SEC (per SEC Memorandum Circular No. 3, series of 2006) disallowed the practice and directed the registrant-corporations and partnerships to state in their Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Partnership, the specific address of their principal office, which shall, include, if feasible, the street number, street name, barangay, city or municipality. “Metro Manila” was no longer allowed as address of the principal office. 

Having in mind the full disclosure requirements, the SEC, on February 20, 2014, expanded the coverage of Memorandum Circular No. 3 by directing all existing corporations and partnerships which provided a general address as their principal office address to amend their articles of incorporation or articles of partnership in order to specify their complete address as mandated by SEC MC No.3-2006. Affected corporations and partnerships are given until December 31, 2014 to effect the change. 

Due to numerous requests for amendments received and being filed, and to give more time to acquire the necessary endorsements from other regulatory agencies, the SEC deemed it necessary to extend the deadline on June 30, 2015. 

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No Need for Court Order to Correct Errors in Birthdate and Sex in the Birth Certificate

Do you need to correct erroneous birthdate and gender in your birth certificate? 

Good news! 

Now, under Republic Act 10172, you can have these errors easily changed without the hassle of going to court. On August 15, 2012, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed into law Republic Act No. 10172 entitled “An Act Further Authorizing the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul General to Correct Clerical or Typographical Errors in the Day and Month in the Date of Birth or Sex of a Person Appearing in the Civil Register Without Need of a Judicial Order Amending for this Purpose Republic Act No. 9048“. 

R.A. No. 9048, signed in 2001, states that "no entry in a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a judicial order, except for clerical or typographical errors and change of first name or nickname which can be corrected or changed by the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or consul general."

Under the amended law, this phrase was revised to include "the day and month in the date of birth or sex of a person where it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake in the entry."

RA 10172 simply expanded the coverage of the correction of clerical or typographical errors in the civil register without judicial order as earlier provided for in RA 9048. Whereas before it was only clerical or typographical errors and change in the first name or nickname of a person which may be changed or corrected by a city or municipal civil registrar or consul general without a judicial order, RA 10172 now allows changes or corrections in the day and month in the date of birth and sex of a person, even without the person petitioning the court. Because correction can be done at the Local Civil Registrar, the process is faster and cheaper.

What is a clerical or typographical error? 

As defined under RA 10172, a “clerical or typographical error” refers to a mistake committed in the performance of clerical work in writing, copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as misspelled name or misspelled place of birth, mistake in the entry of day and month in the date of birth or the sex of the person or the like, which is visible to the eyes or obvious to the understanding, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other existing record or records. 

What CANNOT be changed?

1. Nationality

2. Age

3. Status

When did the law took effect?

The law took effect on 3 September 2012 (15 days after it was published in the newspapers)

How do you apply for correction under RA 10172?

The law states that a petition for correction of a clerical or typographical error, or for change of first name or nickname, as the case may be, shall be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before any person authorized by law to administer oaths. The affidavit shall set forth facts necessary to establish the merits of the petition and shall show affirmatively that the petitioner is competent to testify to the matters stated. The petitioner shall state the particular erroneous entry or entries, which are sought to be corrected and/or the change sought to be made.

The petition and its supporting papers shall be filed in three (3) copies to be distributed as follows: first copy to the concerned city or municipal civil registrar, or the consul general; second copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar General; and third copy to the petitioner.

The petition for change of first name or nickname, or for correction of erroneous entry concerning the day and month in the date of birth or the sex of a person, as the case may be, shall be published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

What are the requirements for correction of day and/or month in the date of birth?

1. Sworn Affidavit;

2. A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page of the registry book containing the entry or entries sought to be corrected or changed;

3. At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries upon which the correction or change shall be based;

4. Other documents which the petitioner or the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general may consider relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition;

5. Earliest school record or earliest school documents such as, but not limited to, medical records, baptismal certificate and other documents issued by religious authorities;

6. Certification from the appropriate law enforcements, agencies that he has no pending case or no criminal record

What are the requirements for correction of sex?

1. Sworn Affidavit;

2. A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page of the registry book containing the entry or entries sought to be corrected or changed;

3. At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries upon which the correction or change shall be based;

4. Other documents which the petitioner or the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general may consider relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition;

5. Earliest school record or earliest school documents such as, but not limited to, medical records, baptismal certificate and other documents issued by religious authorities;

6. Certification issued by an accredited government physician attesting to the fact that the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex transplant

7. Certification from the appropriate law enforcements, agencies that he has no pending case or no criminal record

Can those persons who have undergone sex reassignment surgery, or sex change, avail of the law?

No. Correction of the gender appearing in the birth certificate is NOT allowed if based on the ground that the person successfully underwent sex change surgery. As a safeguard against any attempt to circumvent this prohibition, the new law requires the presentation of documents showing the petitioner’s gender closest to his/her birth. Also, the petition is required to be accompanied by a certification issued by an accredited government physician attesting to the fact that the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex transplant.

Who may file the petition?

For correction of entry on the day and/or month in the date of birth:

Any person of legal age, having direct and personal interest in the correction of a clerical or typographical error in the day and/or month in the date of birth of a person in the civil register for birth, may file the petition.

A person is considered to have direct and personal interest when he is the owner of the record, or the owner's spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, guardian, or any other person duly authorized by law or by the owner of the document sought to be corrected; Provided; however, that when a person is a minor or physically or mentally incapacitated, the petition may be filed on his/her behalf by his/her spouse, or any of his/her children, parents, brothers; sisters; grandparents, guardians, or persons duly authorized by law.

For correction of a clerical or typographical error in sex:

The petitioner affected by such error shall personally file the petition with the civil registry office where the birth certificate is registered. (Rule 3, Republic Act No. 10172 Implementing Rules and Regulations)

Where to file the petition?

For correction of clerical and typographical error in the entry of the day and/or month in the date of birth.

The verified petition may be filed with the C/MCR of the city or municipality or the Philippine Consulate, as the case may be, where the birth record containing the day and/or month in the date of birth to be corrected is registered.

When the petitioner has migrated to another place within the Philippines and it is not practical for such party, in terms of transportation expenses, time and effort to appear before the C/MCR of the place of birth, the petition may be filed with the C/MCR of the place where the petitioner is residing or domiciled. 

Any person whose birth record was reported abroad and presently residing in the Philippines, the petition may be filed with the C/MCR of the place of residence following the procedures of migrant petition.

Any person whose birth record was registered in the Philippines, or in any Philippine Consulate, but who is presently residing or domiciled in a foreign country, may file the petition with the nearest Philippine Consulate.

For correction of clerical and typographical error in the entry of sex

The verified petition shall be filed, in person, with the C/MCR of the city or municipality or the Philippine Consulate, as the case may be, where the record containing the entry of sex in the birth certificate to be corrected is registered. (Rule 4, Republic Act No. 10172 Implementing Rules and Regulations)

Filing Fee

The C/MCR is hereby authorized to collect from every petitioner three thousand pesos (P3,000.00) for petition to correct the day and/or month in the date of birth or sex. An indigent petitioner shall be exempt from paying the required payment, provided that the petition is supported by a certification from the City/Municipal Social Welfare Office that the petitioner/document owner is indigent. (Rule 10, Republic Act No. 10172 Implementing Rules and Regulations)

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Robbery vs Fencing

Robbery is the taking of personal property belonging to another, with intent to gain, by means of violence against or intimidation of any person, or using force upon anything. Fencing, upon the other hand, is the act of any person who, with intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft. 

The crimes of robbery and fencing are clearly then two distinct offenses. The law on fencing does not require the accused to have participated in the criminal design to commit, or to have been in any wise involved in the commission of, the crime of robbery or theft. Neither is the crime of robbery or theft made to depend on an act of fencing in order that it can be consummated. True, the object property in fencing must have been previously taken by means of either robbery or theft but the place where the robbery or theft occurs is inconsequential. It may not be suggested, for instance, that, in the crime of bigamy which presupposes a prior subsisting marriage of an accused, the case should thereby be triable likewise at the place where the prior marriage has been contracted. (People v De Guzman, GR No. 77368, October 5, 1993)

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What is a Contract of Guaranty?

GUARANTY 

By guaranty a person, called the guarantor, binds himself to the creditor to fulfill the obligation of the principal debtor in case the latter should fail to do so (Art. 2047, Civil Code)

NOT PRESUMED

A guaranty is not presumed; it must be express and cannot extend to more than what is stipulated therein (Art. 2055, Civil Code)

To be enforceable, the contract of guaranty must be IN WRITING since this is a special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another (Art. 1403, Statute of Frauds). 

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Is the testimony of the drawee bank's representative indispensable in BP 22 cases?

PEOPLE vs. TADEO
G.R. No. 129774. December 29, 1998

FACTS: Accused issued postdated checks to private complainant in payment of his rental arrears. All the checks bounced upon deposit with the drawee bank. Complainant filed a case for BP Blg. 22. At the trial, the prosecution presented the testimony of complainant to prove the charges against accused. After cross-examination, the prosecution rested its case, and formally offered the documentary exhibits marked at the pre-trial. Accused filed a Demurrer to Evidence which was denied by the trial court. Accused appealed alleging that the trial court acted with grave abuse of discretion when the court held that there exist a prima facie case, disregarding the prosecutions failure to present as witness a representative of the drawee bank to testify on the dishonor of the questioned checks as an element of the offense charged. He insists that the testimony of the banks representative is mandatory.

HELD: It is not required, much less indispensable, for the prosecution to present the drawee banks representative as a witness to testify on the dishonor of the checks because of insufficiency of funds. The prosecution may present, as it did in this case, only complainant as a witness to prove all the elements of the offense charged. She is a competent and qualified witness to testify that she deposited the checks to her account in a bank; that she subsequently received from the bank the checks returned unpaid with a notation drawn against insufficient funds stamped or written on the dorsal side of the checks themselves, or in a notice attached to the dishonored checks duly given to complainant, and that petitioner failed to pay complainant the value of the checks or make arrangements for their payment in full within five (5) banking days after receiving notice that such checks had not been paid by the drawee bank. (This ruling was reiterated in the case of People vs. Recuerdo, G.R. No. 133036, January 22, 2003 and People vs. Ongson, G.R. No. 156169, August 12, 2005.)

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Rule on Police Check Points

"Not all checkpoints are illegal. Those which are warranted by the exigencies of public order and are conducted in a way least intrusive to motorists are allowed. xxx. For as long as the vehicle is neither searched nor its occupants subjected to a body search, and the inspection of the vehicle is limited to a visual search, said routine checks cannot be regarded as violative of an individual’s right against unreasonable search"(Abenes vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 156320, February 14, 2007).

In the absence of probable cause, the authorities CANNOT:

1. Compel the passengers to get out of the car;

2. Conduct bodily searches; and,

3. Compel the motorist to open the trunk or glove compartment of the car or any package contained therein.

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Republic Act 9048

Act Authorizing the C/MCR or Consul General
to Correct a Clerical or Typographical Error
in an Entry and/or Change of First Name
or Nickname in the Civil Register
Without Need of a Judicial
Order

WHAT IS REPUBLIC ACT 9048?

Republic Act (RA) 9048 authorizes the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general to correct a clerical or typographical error in an entry and/or change the first name or nickname in the civil register without need of a judicial order.

RA 9048 amends Articles 376 and 412 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, which prohibit the change of name or surname of a person, or any correction or change of entry in a civil register without a judicial order.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved the act on 22 March 2001. With the law taking effect on 22 April 2001, the Civil Registrar-General promulgated Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 2001, which was published in the newspaper in August that year.

WHAT CORRECTIONS CAN BE MADE BY RA 9048?

RA 9048 allows these corrections:

correction of clerical or typographical errors in any entry in civil registry documents, except corrections involving the change in sex, age, nationality and status of a person.

(A clerical or typographical error refers to an obvious mistake committed in clerical work, either in writing, copying, transcribing, or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as a misspelled name or misspelled place of birth and the like, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other existing record or records.)

change of a person's first name in his/her civil registry document under certain grounds specified under the law through administrative process.

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS UNDER RA 9048 THAT THE PETITIONER NEEDS TO COMPLY WITH?

(1) The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to write or pronounce;

(2) The new first name or nickname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner and he has been publicly known by that first name or nickname in the community; or,

(3) The change will avoid confusion.

WHO MAY FILE THE PETITION?

Whether it is for correction of clerical or typographical error, or for change of first name, the petition may be filed by a person of legal age who must have a direct and personal interest in the correction of the error or in the change of first name in the civil register.

A person is considered of legal age when he is eighteen years old and above. Thus, a minor (less than eighteen years old) cannot by himself file a petition, either for correction of clerical or typographical error or for change of his first name.

Only the following persons are considered to have a direct and personal interest in the correction of clerical error or change of first name:

1. Owner of the record that contains the error to be corrected or first name to be changed



2. Owner's spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, guardian, or any other person duly authorized by law or by the owner of the document sought to be corrected.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE FORM AND CONTENT OF THE PETITION?

The petition, whether it is for correction of clerical error or for a change of first name, should be accomplished properly and in the prescribed form. Section 5 of RA 9048 and Rule 8 of Administrative Order No. 1, S. 2001 require that the petition should be in the form of an affidavit, hence, it should be subscribed and sworn to before a person authorized to administer oath.

Basically, the petition must contain the following facts or information:

• Merits of the petition
• Competency of the petitioner
• Erroneous entry to be corrected and proposed correction; first name to be changed and the proposed new first name

WHAT SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR CORRECTING A CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN A CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENT?

The petition shall not be processed unless the petitioner supports it with the required documents. The supporting documents should be authentic and genuine, otherwise, the petition shall be denied or disapproved pursuant to Rule 5.8 of Administrative Order No. 1, S. 2001. The following supporting documents are admissible as basic requirements:

1. Certified machine copy of the certificate containing the alleged erroneous entry or entries
   
   
2. Not less than 2 public or private documents upon which the correction shall be based. Examples of these documents are the following: baptismal certificate, voter's affidavit, employment record, GSIS/SSS record, medical record, school record, business record, driver's license, insurance, land titles, certificate of land transfer, bank passbook, NBI/police clearance, civil registry records of ascendants, and others.
   
   
3. Notice and Certificate of Posting
   
   
4. Certified machine copy of the Official Receipt of the filing fee
   
   
5. Other documents as may be required by the City/Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR)

WHAT ARE THE SUPPORTING PAPERS FOR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME?

As in the case of correction of clerical error, no petition for change of first name shall be accepted unless the petitioner submits the required supporting papers, as follows:

1. All the documents required of the petitioner for the correction of clerical error shall also be required of the petitioner for change of first name.
   
   
2. Clearance from authorities such as clearance from employer, if employed; the National Bureau of Investigation; the Philippine National Police; and other clearances as may be required by the concerned C/MCR.
   
   
3. Proof of Publication. An affidavit of publication from the publisher and copy of the newspaper clippings should be attached.

HOW MUCH IS THE FEE IN FILING A PETITION?

The C/MCR and the District/Circuit Registrar (D/CR) are authorized to collect from every petitioner the following rates of filing fees:

• One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for the correction of clerical error
  
  
• Three thousand pesos (P3,000.00) for the change of first name

In the case of a petition filed with the Consul General (CG), the fees are the same for all Philippine Consulates. The fees are the following:

• Fifty U.S. dollars ($50.00) for the correction of clerical or typographical error
  
  
• One hundred fifty U.S. dollars ($150.00) for the change of first name

A migrant petitioner shall pay an additional service fee to the Petition Receiving Civil Registrar (PRCR).

This service fee shall accrue to the local treasury of the PRCR.

• Five hundred pesos (P500.00) for correction of clerical or typographical error
  
  
• One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for change of first name

WHERE SHOULD THE PETITION BE FILED?

The general rule is that petition shall be filed with the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) where the record containing the clerical error to be corrected or first name to be changed is kept. Included in this general rule is the case of the Office of the Clerk of Shari'a Court where records of divorces, revocations of divorces, conversions to Islam are kept and where some Muslim marriages are registered.

However, in case the petitioner is a migrant within or outside the Philippines, meaning his present residence or domicile is different from where his civil registry record or records are registered, he may file the petition in the nearest LCRO in his area. His petition will be treated as a migrant petition.

http://www.census.gov.ph/data/civilreg/primerra9048.html

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What is the maximum amount of coins to be considered as legal tender?

CIRCULAR NO. 537

Series of 2006

Pursuant to Section 52 of Republic Act No. 7653 and Monetary Board Resolution No. 862 dated 6 July 2006, the maximum amount of coins to be considered as legal tender is adjusted as follows:

1. One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for denominations of 1-Piso, 5-Piso and 10-Piso coins; and
2. One hundred pesos (P100.00) for denominations of 1-sentimo, 5-sentimo, 10-sentimo, and 25-sentimo coins.

This Circular shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

FOR THE MONETARY BOARD:

AMANDO M. TETANGCO, JR.

Governor

Date Issued: 07.18.2006

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Bar Matter No. 1922: MCLE Compliance

Republic of the Philippines
Supreme Court
Manila

Sirs/Mesdames:

Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of the Court En Banc dated June 3, 2008.

"Bar Matter No. 1922 - Re: Recommendation of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Board to Indicate in All Pleadings Filed with the Courts the Counsel's MCLE Certificate of Compliance or Certificate of Exemption. - The Court Resolved to NOTE the Letter, dated May 2, 2008, of Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, Chairperson, Commitee on Legal Education and Bar Matters, informing the Court of the diminishing interest of the members of the Bar in the MCLE requirement program.

The Court further Resolved, upon the recommendation of the Committee on Legal Education and Bar Matters, to REQUIRE practicing members of the bar to INDICATE in all pleadings filed before the courts of quasi-judicial bodies, the number and date of issue of their MCLE Certificate of Compliance or Certificate of Exemption, as may be applicable, for the immediately preceding compliance period. Failure to disclose the required information would cause the dismissal of the case and the expunction of the pleadings from the records.

The New Rule shall take effect sixty (60) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation."

Carpio-Morales, Velasco, Jr., Nachura, JJ., on official leave.

Very truly yours,

(Signed)

MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA

Clerk of Court

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