Charter to clarify OGCC functions, says official

Government Corporate Counsel Rogelio Quevedo is pushing for a measure creating the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel's (OGCC) charter to clarify and streamline their functions.

"Mas magiging maliwanag yung relationship ng OGCC sa iba't-ibang government corporations, although sa ngayon 'yun na rin 'yung nangyayari, pero ang gusto sana nitong bill na ito ay ilagay sa iisang charter," Quevedo said in a televised public briefing.

"Kasi lahat ng mga responsibilidad ng OGCC ay nakapaloob sa iba't-ibang presidential decrees, iba't-ibang executive orders. Ngayon, kung liliwanagin na sa isang batas sa tinatawag natin na OGCC charter, magkakaroon ng dagdag na mga abogado ang OGCC," he added.

(If we pass this measure, the relationship of the OGCC with the different government corporations will be clearer. Although we can do our functions at the moment, this bill seeks to institutionalize OGCC's duties by establishing a charter. Currently, all the responsibilities of the OGCC are only stated in different presidential decrees and executive orders.)

Quevedo said the OGCC wants to instate the same number of lawyers and ranks in the Office of the Solicitor General.

"Gusto lang po namin na maging kapantay ng OSG ang bilang ng aming mga abogado at maging ang mga ranggo ng aming mga abogado," Quevedo said.

"Importanteng importante ito kasi yung government corporations ay umaabot ng mahigit na 1,000 korporasyon sa buong Pilipinas. Magmula sa Ilocos hanggang sa Sulu, may mga government corporations na nagbibigay serbisyo sa ating mga mamamayan," he added.

In July, President Ferdnand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. vetoed a measure aimed at strengthening the OGCC as he "finds many of its provisions overbearing, specifically the excessive grant of remuneration, incentives, benefits, allowances, and honoraria that violates the principles of equity and standardization.”

The bill aims to make the agency’s employees’ positions, salaries, and benefits upgraded to be at par with their counterparts in the Judiciary branch, Office of the Solicitor General, and the Court of Appeals.

Currently, there are two measures seeking to strengthen the OGCC have been filed in the House of Representatives but no counterpart measure has been filed in the Senate.—LDF, GMA Integrated News