By Ronron
April 1, 2008
Three days after a list of new lawyers in the country was bared by the Supreme Court, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday is enticing them and those who passed within the last few years to join the service “for love of country.”
PNP Legal Service Executive Officer Sr. Supt. Benjamin delos Santos told reporters in Camp Crame yesterday that the PNP currently needs about 80 lawyers so that every province in the country has a legal counsel each.
“If all the provinces have lawyers, even policemen in the municipal level will have proper legal advice. If we have sufficient lawyers in the service, our police stations can be guided like on the latest laws, issues on human rights, and criminal issues,” delos Santos said.
The PNP Legal Service is tasked to provide legal service to members of the organization facing suits that are service-related.
It has 101 lawyers only at present, said delos Santos. For this year, they are entertaining 32 applicants to fill up the 80 vacant positions.
Delos Santos admitted it is difficult to entice lawyers to join the service because the salary offer is smaller compared to those in private practice.
A newly-accepted lawyer in the PNP will only get a monthly salary of P23,000 equivalent to a cop with a rank of Senior Inspector. Lawyers in private sectors, however, get as much as P30,000 to P50,000 a month.
“We just call on your sense of patriotism, love of country, and sense of duty and adventure because police work is very exciting,” delos Santos said when asked how they can convince new lawyers to join the PNP in spite of the relatively meager salary.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court has announced that 1,289 out of the 5,626 bar takers passed last year./DMS
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