PAO, OVP ink pact for free legal assistance
THE Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) have signed a memorandum of understanding making free legal assistance to indigents accessible in its satellite offices.
PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta on Friday hailed the partnership she and Vice President Sara Duterte had just forged saying such an act was “historic” as it is the first time for the second highest official of the land to work with them.
“The event was made possible through the good heart of the vice president and in her quest to put up satellite offices to provide for the marginalized and underrepresented citizens,” she told the “Laging Handa” briefing on PTV-4.
“In my over two decades of serving the PAO, this is the first time that the OVP and PAO had a memorandum of understanding for the benefit of underprivileged Filipinos needing legal assistance,” Rueda-Acosta pointed out.
The PAO chief is confident that her agency will now be able to reach out to more indigent people in need of free legal assistance. She explained that the PAO has actually been extending free legal assistance to millions of Filipino indigents even before its partnership with OVP.
“But it would be different now because we have the Office of the President as our partner and there is no doubt that Vice President Inday (Duterte) was very popular as shown by her huge votes, meaning millions of Filipinos will rely on her for any help they need and that includes legal assistance,” RuedaAcosta said.
She assured the vice president that PAO’s 400 districts all over the country will actively participate in the partnership by acting with dispatch on referrals from the OVP.
The vice president, it was learned, said the MoU signing was made to formalize the OVP’s partnership with PAO.
“This is just the beginning of establishing substantive and meaningful partnerships with government institutions. We hope to expand such partnerships for the benefit of our people,” said Duterte, who is currently the secretary of the Department of Education.