Solicitor General of the Philippines
| Tanggapan ng Taga-usig Panlahat | |
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| Department overview | |
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| Formed | June 6, 1901 |
| Headquarters | OSG Building, 134 Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village, Makati City, Metro Manila |
| Motto | Integrity in advocacy. Social justice through advocacy. |
| Department executive |
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| Website | www.osg.gov.ph |
The Office of the Solicitor General (Filipino: Tanggapan ng Taga-usig Panlahat), formerly known as the Bureau of Justice, is an independent and autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice. The Solicitor General is the principal law officer and legal defender of the Republic of the Philippines. He shall have the authority and responsibility for the exercise of the Office's mandate and for the discharge of its duties and functions, and shall have supervision and control over the Office and its constituent units. He also determines the legal position that the government will take in the courts and argues in virtually every case in which the government is a party. It is tasked to represent the People of the Philippines, the Philippine Government, its Agencies and Instrumentalities, Officials and Agents in any litigation, proceeding, investigation before the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. When authorized by the President, he shall also represent government owned or controlled corporations.
Act No. 136 dated June 11, 1901, which became effective on June 6, 1901, created the position now occupied by the Solicitor General. Under Section 40 of this Act, the Attorney General, as head of the Bureau of Justice, was vested with the powers and functions of today's Solicitor General. At the time, the Solicitor General was second only to the Attorney General in the office the former would eventually head. Appropriately, Section 41 of the Act required an "officer learned in the law" to assist the Attorney General. This law specifically provided that "it should be the special duty of the Solicitor General to conduct and argue suits and appeals in the Supreme Court, in which the Philippine Government is interested."
Meanwhile, a few months after the Bureau of Justice was created, Act No. 222 was passed, establishing the Department of Finance and Justice. The Bureau of Justice was placed under the supervision of a new department. Act No. 2666 would later divide the department into a Department of Justice and a Department of Finance. Under this law, the Attorney General and Solicitor General continued to represent the Government in the Supreme Court and lower courts.
Act No. 4007 which was enacted in 1932 abolished the position of Attorney General. His functions were taken over by the Secretary of Justice. The Act also named the Solicitor General as the head of the Bureau of Justice. The Assistant Solicitor General, a position created by Act No. 683 of 1903, became second in command of the Bureau.
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