The Office of the Solicitor General (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 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 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 and Instrumentalities,