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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
The Department of Justice, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), acts as the principal law agency, legal counsel and representative of the government. (Section 3, Chapter 1, Title III, Book IV, Executive Order No. 292)
Over the years, the Department of Justice continues to uphold the rule of law. Its vision comprises a just and peaceful society anchored on the principles of transparency, accountability, fairness and truth.
(Vision and Mandate of the DOJ, Official Website of the Department of Justice, accessed at [click here]).
On September 26, 1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree reorganizing the then Department of Grace and Justice. (History of the Department of Justice, Official Website of the Department of Justice, accessed at [click here])
“Under the 1973 Constitution, Department became a Ministry of Justice. The 1986 People Power Revolution ushered in the contemporary Department of Justice.
With the adoption of the 1987 Constitution and the Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 292), the Department of Justice was named as the principal law agency of the Republic of the Philippines, serving as its legal counsel and prosecution arm.” (History of the Department of Justice, Official Website of the Department of Justice, accessed at [click here])
Over the years, the Department of Justice continues to uphold the rule of law. Its vision comprises of a just and peaceful society anchored on the principles of transparency, accountability, fairness and truth. (Vision and Mandate of the DOJ, Official Website of the Department of Justice, accessed at [click here])
The DOJ’s mandate is to carry out the policy of the State to “provide the government with a principal law agency which shall be both its legal counsel and prosecution arm; administer the criminal justice system in accordance with the accepted processes thereof consisting in the investigation of the crimes, prosecution of offenders and administration of the correctional system; implement the laws on the admission and stay of aliens, citizenship, land titling system, and settlement of land problems involving small landowners and members of indigenous cultural minorities; and provide free legal services to indigent members of the society.” (Section 1 and 2, Chapter 1, Title III, Book IV, Executive Order No. 292)
Executive Order No. 292 vested the Department of Justice with powers and functions to accomplish its mandate.
The law says:
“To accomplish its mandate, the Department shall have the following powers and functions:
(1) Act as principal law agency of the government and as legal counsel and representative thereof, whenever so required;
(2) Investigate the commission of crimes, prosecute offenders and administer the probation and correction system;
(3) Extend free legal assistance/representation to indigents and poor litigants in criminal cases and non-commercial civil disputes;
(4) Preserve the integrity of land titles through proper registration;
(5) Investigate and arbitrate untitled land disputes involving small landowners and members of indigenous cultural communities;
(6) Provide immigration and naturalization regulatory services and implement the laws governing citizenship and the admission and stay of aliens;
(7) Provide legal services to the national government and its functionaries, including government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries; and
(8) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.” (Section 3, Chapter 1, Title III, Book IV, Executive Order No. 292)
Social Justice and labor laws
The promotion of social justice in all phases of national development is among the state policy under the 1987 Constitution. (Section 10, Article II)
In the landmark case of Calalang v. Williams (70 Phi., 726), the Supreme Court, through Justice Laurel defined social justice as “humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that justice in the rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated.”
The concept of social justice is also recognized in labor laws and jurisprudence. Social justice requires consideration for labor due to their disadvantaged position. Affording protection to labor and construing doubt in favor of the laborer are not only statutorily required under the Labor Code, but are also consistent with the “social justice suppositions underlying labor laws.
Jurisprudence says:
“Our laws on labor, foremost of which is the Labor Code, are pieces of social legislation. They have been adopted pursuant to the constitutional recognition of “labor as a primary social economic force” and to the constitutional mandates for the state to “protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare” and for Congress to “give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, [and] reduce social, economic, and political inequalities.”
They are means for effecting social justice, i.e., the “humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that justice in the rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated.” (Richard Wahing, et al. v. Sps. Amador and Esing Daguio, G.R. No. 219755, April 18, 2020)
In the case of Manila Water Company v. Carlito del Rosario (G.R. No. 188747, January 29, 2014), the Supreme Court ruled that:
“The policy of social justice is not intended to countenance wrongdoing simply because it is committed by the underprivileged. At best, it may mitigate the penalty but it certainly will not condone the offense. Compassion for the poor is an imperative of every humane society but only when the recipient is not a rascal claiming an undeserved privilege.”
Further, it was pronounced that:
“Social justice cannot be permitted to be a refuge of scoundrels any more than can equity be an impediment to the punishment of the guilty. Those who invoke social justice may do so only if their hands are clean and their motives blameless and not simply because they happen to be poor.” (Manila Water Company v. Carlito del Rosario, G.R. No. 188747, January 29, 2014)
Read also: Requisites for Deduction of Family Home From The Gross Estate
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding taxation and taxpayer’s remedies, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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