Mandate

The Department of Justice (DOJ) derives its mandate primarily from the Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order No.
292). It carries out this mandate through the Department Proper and the Department's attached agencies under the direct
control and supervision of the Secretary of Justice.

Under Executive Order (EO) 292, the DOJ is the government's principal law agency. As such, the DOJ serves as the
government's prosecution arm and administers the government's criminal justice system by investigating crimes,
prosecuting offenders and overseeing the correctional system.

The DOJ, through its offices and constituent/attached agencies, is also the government's legal counsel and representative
in litigations and proceedings requiring the services of a lawyer; implements the Philippines' laws on the admission and stay
of aliens within its territory; and provides free legal services to indigent and other qualified citizens.

1. Legal Counsel of Government

The DOJ, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Office of the Government Corporate
Counsel (OGCC), acts as the legal representative of the Government of the Philippines, its agencies and
instrumentalities including government owned and controlled corporations and their subsidiaries, officials and
agents in any proceeding, investigation or matter requiring the services of a lawyer.

EO 292 specifically designates the Secretary as Attorney-General and ex-officio legal adviser of government-
owned or controlled corporations (GOCC) and their subsidiaries. The Secretary exercises administrative
adjudicatory powers over all controversies between/among government agencies, including government
owned and controlled corporations including their subsidiaries. This power of adjudication of the Secretary
originally stemmed from Presidential Decree No. 242, and is now embodied in Sections 66 to 71, Chapter
14, Book IV of E.O. 292.

The Secretary is likewise empowered to act on all queries and/or requests for legal advice and guidance
from private parties and other officials and employees of the government.

2. Administration of the Criminal Justice System

The DOJ investigates the commission of crimes and prosecutes offenders through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and

the National Prosecution Service (NPS),respectively. Likewise, the DOJ administers the probation and correction system of the country

through the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP)and the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA).

3. LRA . mandated to issue decrees of registration and certificates of titles and register
documents, patents and other land transactions for the benefit of landowners
4. COMMISSION ON THE SETTLEMENT OF LAND PROBLEMS - (COSLAP)
assume jurisdiction and resolve land problems or disputes which are critical and explosive in
nature considering, for instance, the large number of the parties involved, the presence or
emergence of social tension or unrest, or other similar critical situations requiring immediate
action:
 Between occupants/squatters and pasture lease agreement holders or timber concessioners;
 Between occupants/squatters and government reservation grantees;
 Between occupants/squatters and public land claimants or applicants;
 Petitions for classification, release and/or subdivision of land of the public domain; and
 Other similar problems of grave urgency and magnitude.
5. Regulation of Immigration

The DOJ provides immigration and naturalization regulatory services and implements the
laws governing citizenship and the admission and stay of aliens through the Bureau of
Immigration (BI). Also, under Administrative Order No. 142 dated August 23, 1994, the
Secretary or his duly-authorized representative is authorized to act on immigration matters,
including waiver of visas and admission of aliens, except deportation matters.

Likewise, the DOJ, through the DOJ Refugee Processing Unit (DOJ-RPU), processes
applications for refugee status of persons pursuant to the obligations of the Philippines as
signatory to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.

6. Provision of Free Legal Assistance

The DOJ provides free legal assistance/representation to indigents and poor litigants as well
as other qualified persons in criminal, civil, and labor cases, administrative and other quasi-
judicial proceedings and non-commercial disputes through the Public Attorney's Office
(PAO)pursuant to RA No. 9406.

7.In addition to performing its mandate under E.O. 292, the Department is significantly
involved in the implementation of the following penal, national security, and social welfare
laws:

 The Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act (R.A. 6981), which mandates the DOJ to formulate
and implement a Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program for the admission and protection
of witnesses;

 Implementation of the Victims Compensation Program through the Board of Claims created under
the DOJ (RA 7309);

 Administrative Order No. 99 (1988), designated DOJ as lead implementor of Justice System
Infrastructure Program (JUSIP) that was tasked to construct/rehabilitate decent office buildings for
judges, prosecutors, public attorneys, probation officers, and registers of deeds;

 Executive Order 180 (1987), which created the Public Sector Labor Management Council, of which
the Secretary is a member, to provide guidelines for the exercise of the right of government
employees to organize;
AGENCIES

1. The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is charged with custody and rehabilitation of

national offenders, that is, those sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment of
more than three (3) years.

2. In accordance with the Revised Administrative Code of 1987, the Commission on

Immigration and Deportation was renamed BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION as it is more
properly called today. The DOJ provides immigration and naturalization
regulatory services and implements the laws governing citizenship and the
admission and stay of aliens through the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

3. The DOJ investigates the commission of crimes and prosecutes offenders through
the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

4. The main objective of the National Bureau of Investigation is the establishment and maintenance of a
modern, effective and efficient investigative service and research agency for the purpose of implementing
fully principal functions provided under Republic Act No. 157, as amended.

5. The Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) provides a less costly alternative to
imprisonment of offenders who are likely to respond to individualized community
based treatment programs.

6. he Presidential Commission on Good Government shall be charged with the task

of assisting the President in the recovery of ill-gotten wealth accumulated by
former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, his immediate family, relatives,
subordinates and close associates, whether located in the Philippines or abroad,
including the takeover or sequestration of all business enterprises and entities
owned or controlled by them, during his administration.

7. The Public Attorney's Office exists to provide the indigent litigants, the oppressed, marginalized and
underprivileged members of the society free access to courts, judicial and quasi-judicial agencies, by
rendering legal services, counseling and assistance in consonance with the Constitutional mandate that
free access to courts shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty in order to ensure the rule of
law, truth and social justice as components of the country's sustainable development.

8. To promote, develop and expand the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
in the private and public sectors; and, to assist government to monitor, study and
evaluate the sue by the public and the private sector of ADR, and recommend
to Congress needful statutory changes to develop, strengthen and improve ADR
practices in accordance with world standards.

9. The Office of the Solicitor General which is an independent and autonomous

office attached to the Department of Justice for budgetary purposes is the legal
representative of the Government of the republic of the Philippines, its agencies
and instrumentalities and its officials and agents in any litigation, proceeding
investigation or matter requiring the services of a lawyer before the local court
systems or international fora.
 10. The Land Registration Authority is mandated to issue decrees of registration and
certificates of titles and register documents, patents and other land transactions
for the benefit of landowners, Agrarian Reform-beneficiaries and the registering
public in general; to provide a secure, stable and trustworthy record of land
ownership and recorded interests therein so as to promote social and economic
well-being and contribute to national development.

Programs

1. The CSPC is hereby strengthened and reorganized to effectively function

as the body principally responsible for coordinating and monitoring the
investigation and prosecution of cases involving violations of R.A. No. 7610
and other child-related criminal laws.

2. It is a program established under Republic Act No. 6981, "The Witness

Protection, Security and Benefit Act", which seeks to encourage a person
who has witnessed or has knowledge of the commission of a crime to testify
before a court or quasi-judicial body, or before an investigating authority,
by protecting him from reprisals and from economic dislocation.

3. By virtue of Proclamation No. 792 and No. 120 dated September 5, 1991
and December 15, 1992, respectively, ?Converting a portion of the prison
site of the New Bilibid Prison declaring as the site of the Department of
Justice (DOJ) Housing Projects?.

4. Republic Act No. 7309 is the law creating the Board of Claims under the
Department of Justice granting compensation for victims of unjust
imprisonment or detention and victims of violent crimes.
Who may apply for compensation?

 A person who was unjustly accused convicted and imprisoned and subsequently released by
virtue of a judgment of acquittal;
 A person who was unjustly detained and released without being charged;
 A person who is a victim of arbitrary detention by the authorities as defined in the Revised Penal
Code under a final judgment of the court; or
 A person who is a victim of a violent crime which includes rape and offenses committed with
malice which resulted in death or serious physical and/or psychological injuries, permanent
incapacity or disability, insanity, abortion, serious trauma, or committed with torture, cruelty or
barbarity.

5. The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) is the body mandated by law to
coordinate and monitor the implementation of Republic Act No. 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking
in Persons Act of 2003, with the Department of justice as the lead agency. It was formed
under section 20 of R.A. 9208, and is composed of the following government agencies and
non-government sectoral representatives:
The IACAT conducts many different projects geared towards the elimination of trafficking in
persons in the Philippines, prevention of the occurrence of trafficking, the protection and
rehabilitation of victims and conviction of trafficking offenders.

6. Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 created the Office of Cybercrime
(OOC) within the DOJ and designated it as the Central Authority in all matters relating to international
mutual assistance and extradition for cybercrime and cyber-related matters.

It also acts as the focal agency in formulating and implementing law enforcement investigation and
prosecution strategies in curbing cybercrime and cyber-related offenses nationwide.

7. The “INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE ON EXTRA-LEGAL KILLINGS, ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES,

TORTURE AND OTHER GRAVE VIOLATIONS TO THE RIGHTS TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND SECURITY OF
PERSONS” (IAC)

Mandate: To serve as the government’s institutional machinery dedicated to the resolution of

unsolved cases of political violence in the form of extra-legal killings (ELK), enforced
disappearances (ED), torture and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and security
of persons.

CHAPTER 2 Department Proper

Undersecretaries. - The Secretary shall be assisted by three (3) Undersecretaries. The Secretary is hereby authorized
to delineate and assign the respective functional areas of responsibility of the Undersecretaries, provided, that such
responsibility shall be with respect to the mandate and objectives of the Department; and provided, further, that no
Undersecretary shall be assigned primarily administrative responsibilities.

Legal Staff - (1) Assist the Secretary in the performance of his duties as Attorney General of the Philippines and as
ex-officio legal adviser of government-owned or controlled corporations or enterprises and their subsidiaries;

(2) Prepare and finally act for and in behalf of the Secretary on all queries and/or requests for legal advice or
guidance coming from private parties and minor officials and employees of the government;

(3) Maintain and supervise the operation of the Department Law Library as well as its personnel; and

(4) Perform such other functions as are now or may hereafter be provided by law or assigned by the Secretary.

Office of the Chief State Prosecutor. - The Office of the Chief State Prosecutor shall have the following functions:

(1) Assist the Secretary in the performance of powers and functions of the Department relative to its role as
the prosecution arm of the government;

(2) Implement the provisions of laws, executive orders and rules, and carry out the policies, plans, programs
and projects of the Department relative to the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases;

(3) Assist the Secretary in exercising supervision and control over the National Prosecution Service as
constituted under P. D. No. 1275 and/or otherwise hereinafter provided; and
 (4) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned by the Secretary.

CHAPTER 3 OGCC

Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Office of the Government Corporate
Counsel (OGCC), acts as the legal representative of the Government of the Philippines, its
agencies and instrumentalities including government owned and controlled corporations
and their subsidiaries, officials and agents in any proceeding, investigation or matter
requiring the services of a lawyer.

EO 292 specifically designates the Secretary as Attorney-General and ex-officio legal

adviser of government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCC) and their subsidiaries.
The Secretary exercises administrative adjudicatory powers over all controversies
between/among government agencies, including government owned and controlled
corporations including their subsidiaries. This power of adjudication of the Secretary
originally stemmed from Presidential Decree No. 242, and is now embodied in Sections 66
to 71, Chapter 14, Book IV of E.O. 292.

Highlights of PAO Law

• The Chief Public Attorney, Deputy Chief Public Attorneys and Regional Public
Attorneys shall not be removed or suspended, except for cause provided by law;

• The clients of the PAO are exempted from payment of docket and other fees
incidental to instituting an action in court and other quasi-judicial bodies;

• The PAO is exempted from payment of charges on postage stamps and mail matters;
• Public Attorney’s positions at the ratio of one public attorney to an organized court
sala;

• PAO lawyers have general authority to administer oaths in connection with the
performance of duty. No need to apply before the courts for authority as notary
public;

• The Chief Public Attorney, the Deputy Chief Public Attorneys, the Regional Public
Attorneys, the Provincial, City and Municipal District Public Attorneys, other PAO
lawyers and officials who have direct supervision over PAO lawyers shall be granted
special allowances not exceeding 100% of the basic salary of PAO officials and
lawyers.