Council Approves P12K Monthly Allowance to PAO Lawyers

The request of 25 lawyers assigned to the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) asking the Cebu City government for a monthly P12,000 as financial assistance, finally gets the approval of the council.

The Cebu City Council’s committee on budget and finance headed by Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña favorably endorsed the granting of the request of said government lawyers.

According to Osmeña, the PAO lawyers should be given allowances from the city because they serve the poorest of the poor in the city free of charges.

She said Section 458 of the Local Government Code allows local government units (LGU’s) to provide allowances and other benefits to judges, prosecutors, public school teachers, and other national government officials assigned in their areas.

During last week’s session of the city legislators, the City Council approved the report of the committee on budget and finance and endorsed the request of PAO to the Office of the Mayor.

Osmeña explained to the PAO lawyers, who visited her at City Hall, that it is the executive department that proposes budgets while the council only reviews and approves them.

The city is giving monthly allowances to city prosecutors at P10,000, Regional Trial Court (RTC) judges at P20,000, Municipal Trial Court of Cities (MTCC) judges at P15,000 each and P4,000 to the clerks of courts.

The PAO lawyers told Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella that the allowances that will be given to them will serve as a token of appreciation for the work they have been doing because they are giving free legal service to poor litigants.