Section 8Sec./Art. 8

The Provincial Prosecutor or City Prosecutor. - There still be for each province or city a Provincial Prosecutor or city Prosecutor, as the case may be, who shall be assisted by at least one (1) Deputy Provincial Prosecutor or Deputy City Prosecutor and such number of assistant and associate prosecutors as provided for hereinafter.

Provided, however, That whenever a new province or city is created, it shall have a provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor, a deputy provincial prosecutor or deputy city prosecutor and such number of assistant and associate prosecutors as there are court branches therein at the ratio of two (2) prosecutors for each branch of regional trial court, one (1) prosecutor for each branch of metropolitan trial court or municipal trial court in cities, and one (1) prosecutor for every two (2) municipal trial courts in municipalities or branches thereof municipal circuit trial courts.

Upon the establishment of the new province or city, position items of Prosecutor of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor for the mother province in excess of the new equivalent pursuant to the ratio established above for the courts or branches thereof that remained to be served by the office shall be transferred automatically to the Office of the provincial Prosecutor or Office of the City Prosecutor for the new province or city, as the case may be: Provided, further, That when all or almost all of the regional trial court branches are seated at the city, the number of prosecutors for the city shall be proportional to the territorial jurisdiction covered by such branches of the courts.

In case a province is reverted to the mother province or a city is reconverted into a municipality for whatever reason, all the prosecution position items of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor or Office of the City Prosecutor shall go to the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor for the mother province: Provided, however, That the position title provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor for the former province or city shall be changed to Assistant Provincial Prosecutor or Associate Prosecutor, as the case may be, and shall have the corresponding rank provided in Section 15.

When the exigencies of the service so require, a province or city may create positions for special counsels whose salaries and other emoluments shall come exclusively from local funds.