DEPARTMENT

The Department of JusticeOF

(DOJ)JUSTICE
acts as the principal law agency
and legal counsel of the government. It serves as the governments
prosecution arm and administers the governments criminal justice
system by investigating crimes, prosecuting offenders, and
overseeing the correctional system.
The following agencies are attached to DOJ:
Attached Agencies

Bureau of Immigration: Office of the Commissioner, Board of Commissioners, and Board of

Special Inquiry - act as collegial bodies and exercises quasi-judicial powers affecting the entry
and stay of foreign nationals in the country

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) - establishes and maintains a modern, effective and
efficient investigative service and research agency

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) - charged with custody and rehabilitation of national offenders

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

Public Attorney's Office (PAO) - provides 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

Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) - assists the President in the

recovery of ill-gotten wealth accumulated by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, his
immediate family, relatives, subordinates and close associates; investigates cases of graft and
corruption; ensures and prevents the above practices from being committed again in any
manner under the new government

Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution - promotes, develops and expands the use of
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the private and public sectors

Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) - the premier law office of
government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), their subsidiaries, other corporate
offspring and government-acquired asset corporations

Office of the Solicitor General - the legal representative of the government in any litigation,
proceeding investigation or matter requiring the services of a lawyer before the local court
systems or international fora

Vision
A just and peaceful society anchored on the principles of transparency, accountability,
fairness and truth.
Mission
Towards the effective, efficient and equitable administration of justice.
Pledge
We undertake to provide every person equal access to justice, to faithfully safeguard
constitutional rights and to ensure that no one is deprived of due process of law.
Our commitment is to advocate for reforms in partnership with our stakeholders, to simplify
processes
and
re-engineer
systems
to
best
serve
our
constituents.
We shall work with honor and integrity for the institution, for God and country.
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.
Functions
1.
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).
2.
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

in Sections 66 to 71, Chapter 14, Book IV of E.O. 292.

is

now

embodied

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.
3.

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, underAdministrative 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.
4.
International Cooperation
The DOJ is the central authority of the Republic of the Philippines relative to extradition
and mutual legal assistance treaties (MLAT) on criminal matters and is involved in
several aspects of international cooperation such as the drafting and implementation of
legislation and agreements as well as the negotiation of extradition and MLAT. Moreover,
under Philippine Extradition Law (P.D. 1069), the DOJ handles requests for
extradition and/or mutual legal assistance and represents treaty partners in Philippine
courts.
The Department is also involved in the negotiation of various investment and trade
agreements with other foreign countries. The Secretary is also the ex-officio Co-Vice
Chairman of the Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs (CMOA) pursuant to EO
612 and EO 612-A (2007), which is involved in the identification of the Philippine
baselines and in the preparation of the submission to the United Nations of the country's
claim for extended continental shelf.
5.
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.
6.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
With regard to conciliation and mediation, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of
2004 (RA 9285) created the Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution (OADR), which is
an agency attached to the DOJ and which is tasked to promote, develop and expand the
use of alternative dispute resolution in civil and commercial disputes.
7.
DOJ functions under other laws and other executive issuances:
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;

The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (RA 9165), which created
the Dangerous Drugs Board to see to policy-making and strategy-formulation on drug
prevention and control and designated the Secretary or his representative as ex-officio
member
of
such
Board;

The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (R.A. 9160), which created the AntiMoney Laundering Council (AMLC) to which the DOJ is a support agency through the
investigation of money laundering offenses and the prosecution of offenders. With the
DOJ Anti-Money Laundering Desk (DOJ-AMLD), the DOJ works in close coordination
with the AMLC in its task of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism;

The Human Security Act of 2007 (RA 9372) which created and designated the
Secretary as ex-officio member thereof. Relative to this and under EO 292, the
Secretary is also an ex-officio member of the National Security Council (NSC), which
advises the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, military,
political, economic, social, and educational policies relating to national security;
The Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1998 (RA 8505), which
mandated the DOJ to participate in inter-agency efforts to establish Rape Crisis Centers
in every city or province for the purpose of rendering assistance to rape victims;
The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (R.A. 9208), which mandates the
prosecution of persons accused of human trafficking and for that purpose, created
the Inter-Agency Council on Trafficking (IACAT), of which the Secretary is Chairman;
The Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (RA 9262),
which designated the Department as a member agency of the Inter-Agency Council on
Violence Against Women and their Children (IACVAWC), the monitoring body of
government initiatives to counter violence against women and children;
Executive Order 53 (2011) amending EO No. 275 pursuant to the Special
Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act (RA
7610), designating the DOJ Secretary as the Chairperson of the Committee for the
Special Protection of Children;
Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (IRR of RA), designating the Secretary of
Justice as member of Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography that is tasked to
coordinate, monitor and oversee the implementation of Anti-Child Pornography Act;
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175), the Office of Cybercrime within
the DOJ designated as the central authority in all matters related to international
mutual assistance and extradition;
Executive Order 45 (2011), which designated the DOJ as competition authority
that investigates all cases involving violations of competition laws and prosecute
violators to prevent, restrain and punish monopolization, cartels and combinations in

restraint

of

trade;

Administrative Order 35 (2012), which designated the Secretary of Justice as

Chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced
Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations on the Right to Life, Liberty and
Security of Persons, the body that undertakes inventory of cases mentioned
perpetrated by state and non-state forces;
Memorandum Circular No. 68 (2014), creating an Inter-Agency Task Force to
Strengthen the Implementation of RA 8049 otherwise known as the Anti-Hazing Law,
with the DOJ Secretary as Chairperson.
Other tasks falling within the multifarious duties of the executive branch to
administer the laws devolve upon the Department through the Secretary, to wit:

The Anti-Dummy Law (Commonwealth No. 108), as amended by Presidential

Decree 715, whereby the Secretary is empowered to authorize the employment of
aliens as technical personnel in the management of a franchise, business or enterprise
expressly reserved by law to Filipino citizens or corporations or associations whose
equity at least 60% of which is owned by Filipinos;
The Local Government Code (Section 187 of RA 7160) which vests in the
Secretary appellate jurisdiction over the constitutionality or legality of municipal tax
ordinances and revenue; measures;
Executive Order 643 (2007) which vests the DOJ with administrative supervision
over the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).
The Secretary is also an ex-officio member of the Judicial and Bar Council
(JBC) [Section 8(1), Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution], the Committee on
Privatization [AO 48 (1987)], and the National Water Resources Board
(NWRB) (EO 123, series of 2002). He is also an ex-officio director of the Power
Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation (RA 9136,
otherwise known as Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001). Under EO 648,
series of 1981, an undersecretary of the DOJ is designated as an exofficio Commissioner of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
(HLURB).

Among the accomplishments she cited were the effort to deliver real-time justice
during her five years in the department, which included an increase in case disposition
rate from 75 percent in 2010 to 80 percent in 2014, and in prosecution rate from 68
percent in 2010 to 73 percent in 2014.
She also said the budget of DOJ for 2016 has a P54-million allocation for operational
expenses and P48 million for additional support staff.
The DOJ chief also said that during her watch, the department has started releasing
the retirement gratuity differentials of prosecutors who bowed from the service since
1992 to the present pursuant to Republic Act No. 10071 otherwise known as the
Prosecution Service Act of 2010.
Another project done during her watch, de Lima said is the launching of the first
biometric-triggered Inmate Management Information System in the Bureau of
Corrections. She added that the groundwork for the transfer of the New Bilibid Prison
and the Correctional Institute for Women to a state-of-the-art facility inside Fort
Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija has been laid down.

De Lima said the National Bureau of Investigation, the DOJs investigative arm, has
also modernized its system, citing as an example the bureaus clearance system which
now captures live biometric information of applicants.
At the Bureau of Immigration, another attached agency of the DOJ, de Lima said the
Alien Registration Program is now in full swing to help beef up security measures to
protect the country from unwanted foreigners while it is also developing eCounters in
the countrys international airports to enhance border control measures.
De Lima also said that since the enactment of Republic Act 9208 or the AntiTrafficking in Persons Act, the DOJ and the NBI have secured 207 convictions
involving 230 persons as of September 15, 2015 from the 29 convictions in 2010.
All of these accomplishments were without challenges. There were times that we
were pressured, cajoled and influenced into forsaking our convictions, but we
persevered and stood our ground, she said.
When mentioning about pressure, de Lima reminded the DOJ employees not to be
afraid from carrying our task as she mentioned about a certain religious
organization, referring to Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), which held a mass action on the
same day she celebrated her birthday. The INC accused her of interfering with
internal affairs of the Church.
We have been pilloried before the public as violators of their freedom of religion,
simply for doing our job. In standing our ground, we were only guided by these
principles: equal protection of the law and justice for all, she said.
De Lima said she was emotional not only because she will miss the people she has
worked with for over five years but also because she misses her father who was
always with her when she makes important decisions.
Siya ang nagbigay ng gabay sa akin when I accepted the Commission on Human
Rights post. Siya iyong nagbigay uli ng gabay sa akin when I accepted the DOJ post
and now the next phase of my journey, bigla ko siyang na miss, said de Lima. Asked
if she thinks her father had already given him a sign, De Lima said: I think so.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/725027/de-lima-bids-adieu-todoj#ixzz45DSzaWOd

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