DOJ lauds Congress for retaining OGCC, PCGG

The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday lauded the move of Congress to keep the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) under its jurisdiction.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra supported the recent decision of the bicameral conference committee to reject the proposal to abolish the two agencies and transfer their functions to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

“The DOJ has always taken the position that the OGCC and the PCGG serve unique purposes and, for that reason, should continue to exist,” he said in a brief statement.

OGCC chief Elpidio Vega also welcomed the development.

“The OGCC lauds the decision of the bicameral conference committee and the recognition that the OGCC is separate and distinct from the OSG,” he said in a separate statement.

“The OGCC has, through the years since its creation, specialized in legal services to protect the government-owned and controlled corporations, dutifully safeguarding their legal interests. It has diligently provided the legal services necessary in order that GOCCs’ mandates shall be achieved for the good of the country,” Vega stressed.

Vega also called on Congress to improve and strengthen the charter of the OGCC “in order to enhance its legal services and further address the legal requirements of more than 130 GOCCs and almost 500 water districts.”

The bicameral conference committee has agreed on the final version of the proposed law strengthening the OSG in a meeting last Jan. 21.

Sen. Richard Gordon, member of the committee, said their members decided not to abolish the OGCC and PCGG.

Gordon said Congress decided to retain the OGCC since the OSG has only 250 lawyers, each handling 1,400 cases.

“So we don’t want them being saddled by additional duties of the GOCCs so it will remain as is,” he explained.

The senator said the PCGG, on the other hand, still has unfinished business, citing the agency’s collection of P171 billion and target of collecting P40 billion more in 2020.

The DOJ earlier objected to the bills in the House of Representatives seeking to abolish the OGCC and PCGG and transfer their functions under the OSG.

The department explained that the OGCC and PCGG have special functions entirely different from the OSG.

The department said consolidating both agencies could result in conflict of interest in many cases.

“At present there are numerous cases wherein the OGCC and the OSG find themselves representing opposing sides with conflicting interest. The OGCC represents the GOCCs while the OSG represents different agencies of the government like the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs, Department of Finance and the like,” the DOJ told the House in 2017.

“If the BIR, for instance, assesses a tax on a GOCC like the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the latter interposes as its defense that it is exempted from the tax, this conflict can only be resolved by going to court and it would be absurd if both entities will be represented by the Solicitor General,” the DOJ stressed.

The DOJ also argued that the OGCC should be recognized for its key role in economic achievements of the stateowned corporations.

As for the PCGG, the DOJ noted that President Duterte does not want the agency abolished but instead wants to expand and broaden its powers.

Both the OGCC and PCGG are under the administrative supervision of the DOJ while the OSG is an attached agency of the department.