Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ; Filipino: Kagawaran ng Katarungan) is the principal law agency of the Philippine government. The DOJ derives its mandate from the Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 292)[1] and serves as the government's prosecution arm, administering its criminal justice system. It is also the country's legal counsel and representative in litigation and proceedings that require the services of a lawyer. Menardo Guevarra is the current secretary of the department.
History
The DOJ’s beginning can be traced to the Naic Assembly, which happened on 17 April 1897. The newly created Department of Grace and Justice, headed by Don Severino delas Alas, was tasked to establish a regime of law. However, the department was not included in the short-lived Republic of Biak-na-Bato, which lasted from November to December 1897.
Following the proclamation of independence in Kawit, Cavite on 12 June 1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree, on 26 September 1898, to bring back the department. It was again left out when the First Philippine Republic was inaugurated in January 1899.
Later in 1899, the American military force established the Office of the Attorney of the Supreme Court to act as a justice department. It was renamed Office of the Attorney General on 11 June 1901 and then reorganized into the Department of Finance and Justice on 1 September 1901. After the Jones Law was passed in 1916, the department once again became independent as the Department of Justice. It was given executive supervision over all courts of first instance and other inferior courts.
The department was made a commission under the Japanese military rule. When the Japanese established a civilian government in 1943, it was changed into a ministry. When World War II ended and the Commonwealth government was re-established, the Department of Justice was reactivated.
During martial law, Presidential Decree No.1 reorganized the executive branch of the national government. Letter of Implementation No. 20 of 31 December, 1972 organized the department proper into the following:
- Office of the Secretary
- Financial and Management Service
- Administrative Service
- Technical Staff
- Prosecution Staff
- Legal Staff
- Judiciary Division
- Commission on Immigration and Deportation
- National Bureau of Investigation
- Office of the Government Corporate Counsel
- Board of Pardons and Parole
- Bureau of Prisons
- Citizens Legal Assistance Office
The department became the Ministry of Justice under the 1973 Constitution. After Ferdinand Marcos was deposed, the People Power Revolution of 1986 also 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 the principal law agency of the Republic of the Philippines, serving as its legal counsel and prosecution arm.
List of Secretaries of Justice
# | Name | Term Began | Term Ended | President | Period |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Department of Grace and Justice was part of Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo's 1897 Naic Assembly Cabinet,with Severino de las Alas as the Director of Grace and Justice.However, the position was not in Aguinaldo's Biak-na-Bato Cabinet that followed months after. | Emilio Aguinaldo | Katipunan revolutionarygovernment | |||
Secretary of Justice | Revolutionary Government | ||||
1 | Severino de las Alas | April 17, 1897 | August 31, 1897 | ||
2 | Gregorio S. Araneta | September 1, 1897 | May 19, 1899 | ||
The department was not part of Aguinaldo's Cabinet during the First Republic, inaugurated in January 1899. | First Republic | ||||
Attorney General | N/A | American military government | |||
3 | Florentino Torres | May 29, 1899 | June 4, 1901 | ||
Secretaries of Finance and Justice | Insular Government(American occupation) | ||||
4 | Henry C. Ide | September 1, 1901 | June 30, 1908 | ||
5 | Gregorio S. Araneta | July 1, 1908 | October 10, 1913 | ||
6 | Victorino Mapa | November 1, 1913 | August 1916 | ||
Secretaries of Justice | |||||
* | Victorino Mapa | August 1916 | June 30, 1920 | ||
7 | Quintin B. Paredes | July 1, 1920 | December 15, 1921 | ||
8 | José Abad Santos | April 26, 1922 | July 17, 1923 | ||
9 | Luis P. Torres | June 18, 1923 | August 31, 1928 | ||
10 | José Abad Santos | September 1, 1928 | June 18, 1932 | ||
11 | Alexander A. Reyes | June 19, 1932 | December 31, 1932 | ||
12 | Quirico M. Abeto | January 1, 1933 | July 5, 1934 | ||
13 | José Yulo | July 6, 1934 | November 14, 1935 | ||
November 15, 1935 | November 15, 1938 | Manuel L. Quezon | Commonwealth | ||
14 | José Abad Santos | December 5, 1938 | July 16, 1941 | ||
15 | Teófilo Sison | July 18, 1941 | November 27, 1941 | ||
Commissioners of Justice | N/A | Japanese militarygovernment | |||
16 | José P. Laurel | December 24, 1941 | December 4, 1942 | ||
17 | Teofilo L. Sison | December 4, 1942 | October 14, 1943 | ||
18 | Quintin Paredes | October 14, 1943 | December 25, 1944 | José P. Laurel | Second Republic |
Secretary of Justice, Labor and Welfare | Sergio Osmeña Sr. | Commonwealth
(in exile) | |||
19 | Mariano A. Eraña (acting) | December 25, 1944 | February 17, 1945 | ||
Secretary of Justice, Agriculture and Commerce | Commonwealth
(restored) | ||||
20 | Delfín Jaranilla | February 17, 1945 | December 31, 1945 | ||
Secretaries of Justice | |||||
21 | Ramon Quisumbing | January 2, 1946 | May 28, 1946 | ||
22 | Roman Ozaeta | May 29, 1946 | July 4, 1946 | ||
July 4, 1946 | April 15, 1948 | Manuel Roxas | Third Republic | ||
April 17, 1948 | September 17, 1948 | Elpidio Quirino | |||
23 | Sabino B. Padilla | September 19, 1948 | June 30, 1949 | ||
24 | Ricardo P. Nepomuceno | July 1, 1949 | July 25, 1950 | ||
25 | Jose P. Bengzon | August 29, 1950 | September 23, 1951 | ||
26 | Oscar Castelo | January 1, 1952 | August 16, 1953 | ||
27 | Roberto Gianzon | August 17, 1953 | December 30, 1953 | ||
28 | Pedro Tuazon | January 4, 1954 | March 17, 1957 | Ramon Magsaysay | |
March 18, 1957 | March 19, 1958 | Carlos P. Garcia | |||
29 | Jesus Barrera | April 18, 1958 | June 4, 1959 | ||
30 | Enrique Fernandez | June 11, 1959 | July 13, 1959 | ||
31 | Alejo Mabanag | July 14, 1959 | December 31, 1961 | ||
32 | Jose Diokno | January 2, 1962 | May 19, 1962 | Diosdado Macapagal | |
33 | Juan R. Liwag | May 20, 1962 | July 7, 1963 | ||
34 | Salvador L. Marino | July 9, 1963 | December 31, 1965 | ||
35 | José Yulo | January 1, 1966 | August 4, 1967 | Ferdinand Marcos | |
36 | Claudio Teehankee, Sr. | August 5, 1967 | December 16, 1968 | ||
37 | Juan Ponce Enrile | December 17, 1968 | February 7, 1970 | ||
38 | Felix Makasiar | February 8, 1970 | August 1, 1970 | ||
39 | Vicente Abad Santos | August 2, 1970 | January 17, 1973 | ||
Ministers of Justice | |||||
* | Vicente Abad Santos | January 17, 1973 | January 16, 1979 | ||
40 | Catalino Macaraig, Jr. | January 17, 1979 | July 22, 1979 | ||
41 | Ricardo C. Puno | July 23, 1979 | June 1981 | ||
July 1981 | June 30, 1984 | Fourth Republic | |||
42 | Estelito P. Mendoza | June 30, 1984 | February 27, 1986 | ||
43 | Neptali A. Gonzales | February 28, 1986 | March 8, 1987 | Corazon C. Aquino | |
Secretaries of Justice | Fifth Republic | ||||
44 | Sedfrey A. Ordoñez | March 9, 1987 | January 2, 1990 | ||
45 | Franklin M. Drilon | January 4, 1990 | July 14, 1991 | ||
46 | Silvestre H. Bello III | July 15, 1991 | February 10, 1992 | ||
* | Eduardo G. Montenegro (acting) | February 10, 1992 | June 30, 1992 | ||
47 | Franklin Drilon | July 1, 1992 | February 2, 1995 | Fidel V. Ramos | |
48 | Demetrio G. Demetria | February 3, 1995 | May 19, 1995 | ||
49 | Teofisto T. Guingona Jr. | May 20, 1995 | January 31, 1998 | ||
* | Silvestre H. Bello III | February 1, 1998 | June 30, 1998 | ||
50 | Serafin R. Cuevas | July 1, 1998 | February 15, 2000 | Joseph Ejercito Estrada | |
51 | Artemio G. Tuquero | February 16, 2000 | January 23, 2001 | ||
52 | Hernando B. Perez | January 24, 2001 | November 26, 2002 | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo | |
53 | Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez [1st female] | November 27, 2002 | January 15, 2003 | ||
54 | Simeon Datumanong | January 16, 2003 | December 23, 2003 | ||
55 | Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez | December 24, 2003 | August 31, 2004 | ||
56 | Raul Gonzalez | September 1, 2004 | September 2, 2007 | ||
* | Agnes Devanadera | September 3, 2007 | November 15, 2007 | ||
* | Raul Gonzalez | November 16, 2007 | January 11, 2010 | ||
* | Agnes Devanadera | January 12, 2010 | March 8, 2010 | ||
* | Alberto Agra | March 10, 2010 | June 30, 2010 | ||
57 | Leila de Lima | June 30, 2010 | October 12, 2015 | Benigno Simeon Aquino III | |
* | Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa | October 12, 2015 | January 21, 2016 | ||
* | Emmanuel Caparas | January 22, 2016 | June 30, 2016 | ||
58 | Vitaliano Aguirre II | June 30, 2016 | April 5, 2018 | Rodrigo Duterte | |
59 | Menardo Guevarra | April 5, 2018 | Incumbent |
Notable Secretaries of Justice
- Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Founder of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), Founding Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), former senator, and Chief prosecutor of the Harry Stonehill case
- Jose P. Laurel, former President and former Associate Justice
- Jose Abad Santos, former Chief Justice
- Neptali A. Gonzales, former senator
- Franklin Drilon, senator
- Leila De Lima, former chairperson of the CHR and senator
Organizational structure
At present, the Department is headed by the Secretary of Justice, with four undersecretaries and six assistant secretaries.
Under the Office of the Secretary are the following offices and services
- Administrative Service
- Board of Pardons and Parole
- DOJ Action Center
- Financial Service
- Library Service
- Office of the Prosecutor General (National Prosecution Service)
- Office of the Chief State Counsel (Legal Staff)
- Planning and Management Service
- Technical Staff
- Office of Cybercrime
- Office for Competition
- Internal Audit Service
Prosecutors are assigned to each of the regions, provinces, and cities of the Philippines.[2]
Attached agencies
The following agencies and offices are attached to the DOJ for policy and program coordination:
Agency | Head |
---|---|
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) | Gerald Bantag |
Bureau of Immigration (BI) | Jaime Hermo Morente |
Land Registration Authority (LRA) | Renato D. Bermejo |
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) | Dante A. Gierran |
Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) | Elpidio Vega |
Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) | Jose Calida |
Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) | Manuel G. Co |
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) | Reynold S. Munsayac |
Public Attorney's Office (PAO) | Persida Acosta |
Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution (OADR) | Bernadette C. Ongoco |
Gallery
References
- ↑ https://www.doj.gov.ph/vision-mission-and-mandate.html Vision, mission and mandate. Retrieved July 15, 2021
- ↑ Republic Act 10071.