Under Republic Act No. 3844, the "Agricultural Land Reform Code," the TMC was reconstituted and renamed Office of the Agrarian Counsel (OTAC). A shift from strictly agrarian concerns to legal aid was made possible by Presidential Decree No. 1 and Implementation Order No. 4 dated October 23, 1972, with the creation of the Citizen’s Legal Assistance Office (CLAO). The functions of CLAO was expanded to include civil, administrative, criminal, and labor cases as well.

The CLAO started out with a workforce of 94 lawyers and an organizational setup of 10 regional and 26 district offices. It was mandated to represent, free of charge, indigent persons. The law provided that agrarian cases are to be handled by the Bureau of Agrarian Legal Assistance and labor cases by the Department of Labor. Subsequently, the Department of Justice entered into agreements with the Department of Labor and the Department of Agrarian Reform whereby it was agreed that the CLAO would also extend legal assistance in agrarian and labor cases. When Administrative Code of 1987 was enacted, the CLAO was renamed the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) headed by a Chief Public Attorney. The change, being merely nominal, did not alter the mandated powers and functions of the office.

Through the years, more lawyers were recruited and additional offices were created to meet the ever-growing need for legal assistance of the marginalized sector. Today, the PAO has an authorized workforce of 964 lawyers and staff distributed among 16 regional offices, 252 district offices, and 6 sub-district offices nationwide. The PAO members continue to work hard to fulfill its mission to uphold justice and equality for, and on behalf of the less-privileged of Philippine society whom it is committed to serve.

We congratulate the Public Attorney’s Office headed by Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda Acosta, its Officers and Members on the occasion of their 33rd Anniversary.