Mandaue City Legal Office asks for more lawyers

THE Mandaue City Legal Office is asking for additional plantilla lawyers to add to the present roster of lawyers under the city’s employ to help them deal with the current flux of legal matters and issues that the city is dealing with.

Omar B. Redula, City Legal Office head, said he asked for more lawyers during the Sangguniang Panglungsod session yesterday after he was asked how the city could help his office to function better.

Redula said the workload of the office had grown at least 10 times due to additional assignments such as those with matters involving franchise of tricycles, which used to be with the Office of the Mayor; and providing assistance when it comes to demolition issues, in addition to rendering legal opinion on different concerns.

Redula said that Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing was already aware of this concern and the mayor supported his move but it would also require the approval of the City Council for it to be implemented.

“In fact, our office, because of our current load, it is more than enough for the city attorney and for the assistant city attorney,” he said.

“Actually, we are only two plantilla lawyers in the office. We have two other lawyers assisting us, but unfortunately, they are considered as job-order.

In fact we have already asked the mayor to ask the council to open additional position for lawyers in the office,” he said.

Redula said that six lawyers, in addition to him as the city attorney and the assistant city attorney, would be sufficient to have an effective City Legal Office.

“The letter we sent to the Mayor asked only for six considering concerns about austerity measures,” he said. “I think the additional of six lawyers would be enough to handle the job.”

He pointed out that it is the office of the mayor and the Sangguniang Panglungsod that could seek the legal advice from the City Legal Office under the Local Government Code, but that they have made exceptions because the different departments of the city government would rather seek legal opinion first before undertaking any transactions.

The additional six plantilla lawyers, once approved, will occupy a salary grade position of 20 to 24, which is the same as that of the assistant city attorney while the city attorney occupies a salary grade 26 position, similar to that of a department head.

Before the position will be implemented, the City Legal Office will first have to file a personnel request with the mayor who will forward the request to the Sangguniang Panglungsod.

The Sangguniang Panglungsod will then have to pass an ordinance creating the additional positions of the six assistant city lawyers.