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25-620: Plaza Dilao is one of five freedom parks in the City of Manila, where protests and rallies may be held without requiring permission from local authorities. In Spanish colonial times , Paco (originally Dilao) was home to one of two Japanese settlements in Manila, with the other in San Miguel . While the Japanese community of Plaza Dilao began with Dom Justo Takayama and his family settling in

50-746: A government-owned and operated educational institution" are freedom parks. Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines The Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines ( 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 OSG is headed by Menardo Guevarra . The Office of

75-529: A handful of assistant attorneys in the 1900s, the Office of the Solicitor General has grown throughout the years. In accordance with E.O No. 292, the Administrative Code of 1987, the Solicitor General was assisted by fifteen Assistant Solicitors General and more than a hundred Solicitors and Associate Solicitors, who are divided into fifteen divisions. In 2006, with the passing of Republic Act 9417 or

100-623: A part of the Sucat–Paco–Araneta–Balintawak Transmission Line of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), is located west of the plaza. The southbound off-ramp of Skyway Stage 3's Plaza Dilao Exit is currently being constructed around the plaza, particularly along Plaza Dilao Road. Freedom park In the Philippines , a freedom park is a centrally located public space where political gatherings, rallies and demonstrations may be held without

125-745: A result of Reyes v. Bagatsing , a 1983 case heard by the Supreme Court of the Philippines where it was decided that there is no legal impediment to holding a rally in a public venue, which in this case was Rizal Park . This led to the enactment of Batas Pambansa Blg. 880, the Public Assembly Act of 1985 , which codified the Reyes decision. Despite the Public Assembly Act of 1985 requiring that all cities and municipalities have freedom parks, until 2006 only one freedom park

150-509: Is believed that the presence of the Japanese community around the plaza eventually led it to be called "Plaza Dilao", referring to the yellowish ( dilaw in Tagalog ) skin tone of the area's inhabitants. During the American period , Plaza Dilao became a transport center with the construction of Paco railway station in 1915, directly across from the plaza. During World War II , the area was

175-526: The Bureau of Justice used to have were gradually transferred to newly created offices and divisions of the Department of Justice. Executive Order No. 94 of 1947 renamed the Bureau of Justice as the Office of the Solicitor General. Subsequently, the legislature passed R. A. No. 335 in 1948 to confirm this change and to provide for a First Assistant Solicitor General who would be the second highest official in

200-781: The Local Government Code of 1991. In 2006, the Department of the Interior and Local Government designated the following as freedom parks in Metro Manila : In 2020, the Commission on Human Rights reiterated that the University of the Philippines Diliman campus, including Liwasang Diokno outside their headquarters, is a freedom park. The Public Assembly Act of 1985 states that a "campus of

225-674: The OSG Law, the Office has expanded to thirty (30) legal divisions with a corresponding increase in the general and administrative support personnel and provision for ample office space. Each lawyer at the OSG handles an average of 800 cases at any given time. Aside from the paper chase involved in appealed cases and original petitions before the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, a Solicitor General or Associate Solicitor has to match wits with

250-420: The Office. A succession of laws relieved the Office of the Solicitor General of some of its burdens. Section 1660 of the old Administrative Code previously provided that the head of the Bureau of Justice "shall have general supervision and control over provincial and city fiscals (now prosecutors) and attorneys and over other prosecuting officer throughout the Philippines." The Office of Special Prosecutors, which

275-554: The Philippines are headquartered near Plaza Dilao. The Philippine Columbian Association (PCA), the Philippines' oldest sporting club, relocated its headquarters to the plaza on April 1, 1979, while the Asociación de Damas de Filipinas (Ladies' Association of the Philippines) is located close to the plaza along Quirino Avenue Extension, having been in the same place since its establishment in 1913. The Paco substation of Meralco ,

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300-545: 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. As a result of the rapidly burgeoning number of cases involving the Government, the Solicitor General after independence was constrained to concentrate on advocacy and court appearances. The functions which

325-497: The Solicitor General formerly headed, was later converted into a Division of Special Attorneys by R.A. No. 311 of 1948. The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, which was headed by the Solicitor General under Executive Order No. 392 of 1950, became a separate office in the Department of Justice by virtue of R.A. No. 2327. From a motley staff of one Solicitor General, an Assistant Solicitor General and

350-478: The Solicitor General is the "law firm" of the Republic of the Philippines. 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

375-418: The best lawyers of the country in countless trials." The Office of the Solicitor General has the following specific powers and functions: Under Republic Act No. 9417 , there shall be at least thirty (30) legal divisions in the Office of the Solicitor General. Each division, permanently headed by an Assistant Solicitor General, shall consist of ten (10) lawyers and such other personnel as may be necessary for

400-549: 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

425-729: 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, instrumentalities, officials, and agents in any litigation, proceeding, or investigation before the Supreme Court and the 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

450-517: The need of prior permission from government authorities. Similar to free speech zones in the United States, the existence of freedom parks are based on the premise that the government may regulate the time, place and manner of assemblies, without prejudice to the nature of expression being expressed in those assemblies. These spaces, of which every city and municipality is required to have at least one space designated as such, were created as

475-429: The office to effectively carry out its functions. Lawyers in the OSG hold the following ranks: Senior State Solicitor, State Solicitor II, State Solicitor I, Associate Solicitor III, Associate Solicitor II, and Associate Solicitor I. The law likewise dictates that the Solicitor General shall have a cabinet rank and the same qualifications for appointment, rank, prerogatives, salaries, allowances, benefits and privileges as

500-452: 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 Secretary of Justice. 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

525-519: The site of an intense battle between Japanese and joint Filipino and American forces led by Cleto Rodriguez . The plaza is still considered a transport center: when former President Joseph Estrada became Mayor of Manila in 2013 and ordered a ban on city buses entering Manila, buses, for a while, terminated at the plaza instead of their usual terminus at the Liwasang Bonifacio . Aside from Paco railway station, two prominent organizations in

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550-583: The surrounding area after they were exiled from Japan in 1615, most Japanese in Manila at the time were settled around the area now occupied by the Philippine Normal University . However, in 1762, the Japanese residents of Manila were later relocated here by the Spanish authorities, although after that, the community's population began to decline owing to reduced Japanese immigration to the Philippines and Japan's policy of sakoku . It

575-463: The use of the public to peacefully assemble, with the only requirement for doing such being prior notice given to the local mayor. Most localities established freedom parks after Bayan v. Ermita was heard by the Supreme Court, following an order wherein all cities and municipalities were to establish freedom parks within thirty days of the decision's promulgation. Freedom parks may not be closed without provisions for its relocation, under Section 21 of

600-572: Was legally designated in the entire country: the Fuente Osmeña Rotonda in downtown Cebu City , according to testimony provided by Alfredo Benipayo , then Solicitor General of the Philippines , in Bayan v. Ermita . In its decision of the case, promulgated on April 26, 2006, the Supreme Court stipulated that in the absence of a freedom park in a particular city or municipality, all public spaces in that particular locality shall be open for

625-412: 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

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