Reorganizing and Restructuring the National Prosecution Service

October 18, 1979

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 946

TO : The Minister of Justice

In view of the national policy to achieve the most judicious utilization of the available funds, manpower and other resources of each ministry in the implementation of essential programs which contribute directly and positively to national development, as well as to the resolution of current national problems, you are hereby instructed to give priority to the following as immediate objectives of the Ministry of Justice:

1. Speedy implementation of Presidential Decree No. 1275, reorganizing and restructuring the National Prosecution Service.

2.  Dispensation of legal assistance to the indigent and the underprivileged through the Citizens Legal Assistance Office; the improvement of the facilities of that office and rendition of its services to the widest possible range of deserving people.

3. Decongestion of national prisons; the improvement of conditions in correctional institutions with emphasis on rehabilitation and inmate productivity; priority attention to Metro Manila jails by wholehearted support of the Metro Manila jail project jointly initiated by the Ministry of Human Settlements with your Ministry.

4. Implementation and development of the role of the Katarungang Pambarangay in the administration of justice, in collaboration with other responsible offices.

5. Reinforcement of the probation system as a vital aspect of criminal justice and reform.

6. Improvement of the national criminal investigation service with the end in view of securing more expeditious investigation and solution of crimes referred to the National Bureau of Investigation and upgrading the quality of Bureau Information and intelligence on criminal activity. acd

7. Strengthening of the administration and implementation of immigration laws and regulations consistent with the imperatives of national security, foreign policy and tourism programs.

8. Improvement of systems and procedures in the Land Registration Commission.

To enable the Ministry of effectively pursue the aforementioned objectives as a cohesive and effective executive department, you are further instructed to re-examine current management policies and practices in the Ministry and its component offices, bureaus, and agencies and to take all steps necessary and appropriate to streamline and modernize the management of human and material resources of the Ministry.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 18th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Nine. acd