The Department of Justice will need a total of 1,537 new prosecutors and prosecution attorneys to haste the resolution of complaints and court cases which, for the past six years, have totaled more than 1.1 million.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla made the disclosure on the opening of new prosecutorial posts after the DOJ and the Department of Budget and Management signed a joint circular on staffing standards for prosecution offices.
“As gate keepers of criminal justice it is vital that the country’s prosecutional services be sufficiently empowered and equipped with an adequate workforce to pursue the investigation and prosecution of criminal behavior,” Remulla said during the signing ceremony.
“By increasing their ranks, we can fortify the justice system, expedite the resolution of cases and ensure that justice is served,” he added.
With the joint circular, Remulla said: “We expect an additional 1,173 prosecutors and 364 prosecution attorneys to augment our prosecution offices throughout the country.”
Prior the signing of the joint circular, Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento sais the DOJ’s National Prosecution Service (NPS) is authorized to fill up only 2,771 posts for prosecutors and 250 posts for prosecution attorneys.
As of Sept. 30, 2023, Malcontento said the NPS has 2,466 prosecutors and 204 prosecution attorneys.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, for her part, described the joint circular as “a crucial step towards strengthening and rationalizing the National Prosecution Services across the country.”
“To ensure that the services provided by our prosecution offices nationwide continues, we allotted P6.8 billion in funds under the proposed national budget for next year,” Pangandaman said.
Remulla said the signing of the joint circular is timely.
“With total court dockets reaching 1.1 million cases for the past six years, our public prosecutors are deluged, if not overburdened, by an ever increasing case load that has inversely impacted our 246 prosecution offices nationwide,” he said.
“The rising criminal cases demands a proportional increase in the number of public prosecutors. By bolstering the number of public prosecutors we can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our criminal justice system, ensuring that cases are handled expeditiously and with attention they deserve,” Remulla added.
The DOJ Secretary also said the increase in the number of prosecutors and prosecution attorneys was needed as “there are threats
looming over the horizon that would soon require more and specialized public prosecutors.”
“Criminals have become increasingly sophisticated, utilizing advanced
technology and intricate networks to perpetrate their nefarious deeds.
These include urgent threats posed by international trafficking organizations and transnational criminals including those acting in behalf of criminal enterprises who are now turning to the largely unregulated cyberspace to commit and conceal their crimes such as human trafficking, online sexual exploitation of children and all
sorts of cyber scams,” he said.
“To combat this evolving criminal landscape, we must deploy more public prosecutors with a deep understanding of the legal nuances, digital forensics and investigative techniques,” he added.