A significant number of permanent positions at the Department of Justice (DoJ) have remained unfilled even as Congress had approved a budget more than enough to sustain it, lawmakers said on Thursday.

CIBAC Partylist Rep. Cinchona Cruz Gonzalez said despite the availability of budget for the positions, the DoJ has failed to fill them up.

She said that at present, the total permanent positions of the DOJ numbered 17,372 with a corresponding budget of P3.47-billion but the total allocation for personal services approved by Congress for the same year amounted to P4.65-billion or a difference of P1.18-billion.

“Based on this data, why are there still unfilled positions in the DOJ considering that one of the challenges and issues of the department is its nationwide manpower deficiency,” said Cruz.

She said from 2004 to 2008 the amount provided under the General Appropriations Act exceeded the budget requirement for permanent positions by an average of 26.6 percent, yet since 2004 to 2008 there has been a pattern of unfilled positions in the DOJ.

“The budget allocated for personal services was increased precisely to address the urgent need for human resources by the department. Is the DOJ saying that all these years, the budget allocated for personal services was not enough to fill in the need for human resources in the department?” Cruz said.