Ombudsman opens assistance centers
In a bid to bring its frontline services closer to the public, the Office of the Ombudsman opened its satellite office in Roxas City, Capiz on 30 January 2024. Ombudsman Samuel Martires led the opening of the Ombudsman Assistance Center (OAC) in City Mall Roxas City in partnership with DoubleDragon Corporation President Ferdinand Sia. The Ombudsman Assistance Center will cater to walk-in clients for the filing of complaints and Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth including the processing of Ombudsman clearance. Designed to provide responsive and streamlined frontline services, Ombudsman Assistance Centers nationwide are being established to ensure efficient service delivery and expedite OMB frontline transactions. Several OACs are set to be opened in Pasay City, Tuguegarao City, Dumaguete City, San Jose in Antique and Zamboanga City. The OAC in Jolo, located in the Sulu Capitol Complex, Brgy. Bangkal, Patikul, Sulu, was also opened on 28 January 2024. ### Public Information and Media Relations Bureau Email: [email protected]
Read moreOMBUDSMAN MARKS INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY
December 9 marks the commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) and as part of the observance, the Office of the Ombudsman held the SIKHAY LABAN SA KORAPSYON (SiLaK) Galvanizing the Anti-Corruption Sector Thru Strategic Innovations and Gender Mainstreaming, with the participation of various stakeholders and civil society organizations. The SiLaK initiative is the Office of the Ombudsman’s collaborative advocacy platform to facilitate data-driven policy development and strategic innovations in the anti-corruption sector. It is an abbreviation for “Sikhay Laban sa Korapsyon,” a Filipino phrase which means ‘assiduity and diligence in the fight against corruption.’ The Office of the Ombudsman which is vested with broad constitutional powers, is cognizant that it must remain dynamic, responsive and collaborative to lead the enforcement of public accountability against graft and corruption, ensure the sanctity of public office as a public trust, and promote high standard of ethics in public service amidst challenges of modern governance and rising expectations from the public. Its strategic interdependence with all branches in the government and other anti-corruption stakeholders is not only needed to effectively dispense its mandate but also for sustained improvement of its service delivery mechanisms and core functions. Hence, continued revitalization of the Office of the Ombudsman, as well as the strategic innovations and collaborative programs that will be engendered, is an institutional imperative and serves as an integral part of the anti-corruption function of the institution. Towards this end, this year’s SiLaK is focused on galvanizing the anti-corruption sector through strategic innovations and gender mainstreaming under the stewardship of the Office of the Ombudsman. It specifically aims to: (a) strengthen linkages of justice and anti-corruption stakeholders towards an innovative, sustainable, inclusive, and transformative roadmap against corruption; (b) develop an I.T. enabled systematic knowledge repository and exchange facilities of anti-corruption studies, experience, and best practices; (c) promote data-driven policy development and management to promote integrity and fight corruption; and (d) sustain gender mainstreaming in policy-oriented discourse. As one of the highlights of the celebration, the Ombudsman inaugurated the HIP Awards, a simple, multi-sectoral initiative that aims to recognize exemplary acts of Honesty, Integrity and Public Accountability. The HIP Awards is envisioned as an enabling tool in transforming ordinary citizens, through their seeds of exemplary acts, into champions of cornerstone Filipino values, that is—honesty, integrity and accountability. (Please see attached list of HIP awardees) In his keynote message, Deputy Ombudsman Anderson Lo remarked “the Office is aware that it must remain capable, if not dynamic, to lead the enforcement of public accountability against graft and corruption to assuage public trust. As a way forward, the Office conducted major stakeholder consultation workshops on anti-corruption innovations in 2022 to solicit inputs in crafting a multi-year blueprint. The key components of the blueprint can be categorized into 3 interlocking strategic innovation areas, namely, digitalization, comprehensive institutional capacity building and strategic collaboration.” The 2023 International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) seeks to highlight the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development. At its core is the notion that tackling this crime is the right and responsibility of everyone, and that only through cooperation and the involvement of each and every person […]
Read moreCLARIFICATORY STATEMENT OF OMBUDSMAN SAMUEL R. MARTIRES
In the recent budget hearing of the Office of the Ombudsman before the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the Ombudsman mentioned that the Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) ought not to be published when what he meant was the Annual Audit Report (AAR). The Ombudsman wants to clarify this matter. The Ombudsman assures that it is not protecting erring and corrupt government officials and employees with its firm belief that only the Final Audit Report ought to be published and shared with the public since the Annual Audit Report (AAR) could still be taken up on appeal before the Commission on Audit En Banc and the Court. The Office of the Ombudsman takes this opportunity in assuaging the valid concerns of the public. The Office is fully committed in pursuing its mandate as protectors of the people by ensuring that its processes are fully aligned with integrity, transparency and accountability in public service. ### PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MEDIA RELATIONS BUREAU (PIMRB) (02) 8479-7300 local 2122 / 0917.8066708
Read moreSTATEMENT RE: PREVENTIVE SUSPENSION OF MIAA ACTING GENERAL MANAGER CHIONG AND ACTING ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER MONTALBO
The April 28, 2023 Order of the Ombudsman in OMB-C-A-APR-23-0061 directed that Cesar Chiong, Acting General Manager of the Manila International Airport Authority, and Irene Montalbo, Acting Assistant General Manager for Finance and Administration, be placed under preventive suspension without pay for the duration of the proceedings until the same is terminated but not to exceed six (6) months. Complainants in this case are MIAA officials who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of their cause of action involving the reassignment of 285 employees and the designation of Montalbo as Acting Assistant General Manager despite her unsatisfactory rating. The Office took cognizance of the complaint pursuant to the Ombudsman Act of 1989 or Republic Act No. 6770 which prescribes that it may take up a complaint in due course or proceed with fact-finding investigation in any of the following modes: motu proprio (through the own accord of the Office), or through an anonymous complaint or a formal complaint filed before the Office. Under Section 24 of the same law, the Ombudsman may preventively suspend any officer or employee under his authority pending an investigation, if in his judgment the evidence of guilt is strong, and (a) the charge against the officer or employee involves dishonesty, oppression or grave misconduct or neglect in the performance of his duty; (b) the charges would warrant removal from the service; or (c) respondent’s continued stay in office may prejudice the case. The Office bases its Decisions, Orders and Resolutions from the evidence on record and exercises due diligence and impartiality in passing upon facts which are relevant or material to the case. ### Public Information and Media Relations Bureau Email: [email protected]
Read moreABU DHABI DECLARATION PROGRAMME (ADDP) REGIONAL WORKSHOP: “ENHANCING COLLABORATION BETWEEN SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS AND ANTI-CORRUPTION BODIES IN PREVENTING AND FIGHTING CORRUPTION”
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Read moreON THE TURNOVER OF ₱53.6 MILLION IN GARCIA’S FORFEITED ASSETS TO THE BUREAU OF TREASURY
The efforts of the Office of the Ombudsman to seize the ill-gotten wealth of former Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia has come full circle. The turnover of ₱53.6 million in cash and forfeited land titles from Garcia to the Bureau of Treasury last week was also a vindication of sorts for Ombudsman Samuel Martires and Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval. Sandoval was then the presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan while Martires was among the three justices of the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division who approved Garcia’s plea bargaining agreement with the Ombudsman prosecutors in 2011. Under the agreement, Garcia would plead guilty to committing a lesser offense of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering instead of standing trial for plunder. The former military comptroller also agreed to hand over ₱135.4 million of his assets to the government. The compromise agreement resulted in the filing of a complaint in the Department of Justice against Martires, Sandoval and then Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Teresita Baldos, who were accused of issuing an “unjust interlocutory order.” The DOJ’s National Prosecution Service would eventually dismiss the complaint for lack of merit. The Aquino administration had challenged the plea deal and led to the impeachment of then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in the House of Representatives, subsequently prompting her to resign in May 2011 as the Senate was about to start her impeachment trial for betrayal of public trust. On September 16, 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Sandiganbayan’s decision that greenlighted the agreement as it echoed the antigraft court’s position that the government prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence that would warrant Garcia’s conviction for plunder. In a 40-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the high court unanimously concluded that the compromise deal “appears to be procedurally sound” and was consistent with the Rules of Court. “Considering the prosecution’s failure to prove private respondent Garcia’s guilt for plunder and money laundering beyond reasonable doubt, respondent Sandiganbayan cannot be said to have gravely abused its discretion in approving the assailed plea bargaining agreement,” the high court ruled. Interestingly, Leonen had initially opined that the plea deal was “void” when he testified during a Senate inquiry in 2011 as the then dean of the University of the Philippines’ College of Law. Martires, who was publicly pilloried along with Sandoval and Baldos, said he was confident that their 2011 decision would stand the judicial scrutiny and review by his former colleagues in the judiciary as he maintained that they were just after the interest of the public in handling the case against Garcia. “As what I have always told my fellow justices then, the time will surely come when the Holy Spirit will unfold the truth in this case,” Martires said. “To my mind, the Supreme Court ruling was a vindication of our decision as it was penned by no less than the justice who previously said that the plea bargaining agreement was erroneous,” he said. For his part, Sandoval is elated that their much-maligned decision has now borne fruit and brought additional revenues to the state coffers. He also recalled that the administrative and criminal complaints filed […]
Read moreINTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY
Statement from the Office of the Ombudsman, Republic of the Philippines In pre-COVID 19 days since its establishment, the Office of the Ombudsman has already seen how corruption has evolved and persisted despite the many efforts at prevention and at deterrence through prosecution of offenders. In these times, corruption even found an ally in the global health emergency wherein urgencies in operations and quarantine measures may have falsely bolstered the confidence among perpetrators that corrupt activities would go unnoticed as the vigilant public becomes locked down. With this pervasiveness, the Office of the Ombudsman is one with the international community in underscoring the importance of a whole-of-society approach to combat corruption. The Office acknowledges what the 2021 International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight – all stakeholders “including States, Government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, media representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, the public and youth” have a crucial role to play in advancing the anti-corruption agenda. As such, all should be empowered and be involved in order to play such role with much potency and conviction. In show of support to the 2021 International Anti-Corruption Day campaign, the Office of the Ombudsman remains steadfast in discharging its duty through an inclusive corruption prevention campaign and an investigation and prosecution that are mindful of the rights and protection of stakeholders. The Office believes that anti-corruption is everyone’s business as it is ultimately the welfare of the rest of the nation that becomes at stake each time our coffers are used for illicit gains and each time a government fails to deliver its duty to serve and protect. The Office echoes this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day campaign theme and call on each one of us to exercise Your right, your role: Say no to corruption.
Read moreOMB has full trust and confidence on nominees for DO Mindanao
Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires said that he has full trust and confidence on the integrity and competencies of the three (3) nominees in the shortlist of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for the position of Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao. The JBC shortlist, released in May 17, 2021 includes Atty. Beda A. Epres, Atty. Maria Iluminada S. Lapid-Viva and Atty. Anderson Ang Lo. The position is yet to be filled by President Rodrigo R. Duterte. The Ombudsman said that the three (3) nominees have undergone vetting process by himself through exhaustive background checks. “Nothing turned up derogatory in my vetting, no one has a record of graft and corruption in their present and previous positions or employments,” said the Ombudsman. “If I can have it my way to appoint and create two more positions, I would like them to all serve as Deputy Ombudsmen for Mindanao.” ### Public Information and Media Relations Bureau Office of the Ombudsman Telephone No. 8479.7300 local 2122
Read morePRESS RELEASE/STATEMENT
“The Office of the Ombudsman would prefer to work quietly and away from the limelight, particularly when the reputation of people in the government is concerned. After all, we still operate under the Constitutional presumption of innocence and the statutory presumption that official functions are regularly performed.” This was the statement made by Ombudsman Samuel Martires in relation to the Annual Audit Report (AAR) posted by the Commission on Audit in its website. The AAR contains the various observations of the COA with respect to its inquiry into the budget utilization of the Department of Health (DOH) for fiscal year 2020. Ombudsman Martires also revealed that he ordered, motu propio, and as early as June 2020, the investigation relative to the procurement of test kits, PPE’s and other emergency purchases; including the non-payment to ” fallen health workers” and those infected by the virus; as well as the lapses and inefficiencies that led to the rising number of deaths and infected medical frontliners. The on-going investigation already resulted to the preventive suspension of at least five (5) DOH officials sometime in October 2020.” Our next step now is to review the COA Report and compare the same with our findings to determine the existence of any administrative or criminal liability in relation to the financial transactions of the DOH,” the Ombudsman added. He stressed that their investigation is also focused on determining the causes of inefficiency or mismanagement and identifying areas prone to corruption, the results of which will be communicated to the agency concerned and to Congress for appropriate legislation, if necessary. With the 2020 AAR this will greatly help in their investigation. Earlier, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales pointed to a 2017 COA-OMB Memorandum of Agreement that created a task force composed of COA auditors and Ombudsman investigators to automatically investigate audit observations tagged by the COA. “I would like to apologize to former Ombudsman, Justice Conchita Carpio Morales for not informing her that I deactivated the task force because I noted some legal infirmities in the MOA like usurpation of authority. I also want to avoid another wastage of government resources and embarrassment on the part of the Ombudsman prosecutors, the likes of which happened in the numerous cases which Justice Carpio Morales filed against a former Congressman and several department heads of Caloocan City.” Ombudsman Martires was referring to the anti-graft and malversation cases filed by former Ombudsman Carpio Morales based on an Audit Observation Memorandum of the COA. When the cases against former Congressman Echeverri, et al. were filed, the audit process has not yet been completed and the accused were able to appeal the audit observations to the Commission en banc, which overturned the findings of the auditors. Meanwhile the OMB criminal cases pending with the Sandiganbayan reached the Supreme Court which, on the basis of the decision of the Commission Proper, dismissed the cases. This forced the prosecutors of the Office of the Ombudsman to withdraw the other cases against Echiverri, et al. Ombudsman Martires also clarified that “The AAR is composed of several Audit Observations Memorandums and the agency is given the […]
Read moreSTATEMENT OF OMBUDSMAN SAMUEL R. MARTIRES
This pertains to the observations of the Commission on Audit (COA) anent the Department of Health’s (DOH) 2020 budget utilization as contained in its Annual Audit Report (AAR). It must be noted that the AAR contains several Audit Observation Memorandum reports, and at this stage of the proceedings, the Office of the Ombudsman will await the completion of the auditing process as the agency is given the opportunity to ensure full implementation of all audit recommendations to improve the financial and operational efficiency of the DOH. Following this, should there be non-compliance or disagreement in the implementation of the recommendations and observations of the auditors, the matter may still be elevated to the COA en banc which has the final say on the matter. To await the finalization and completion of the auditing process avoids a repeat of having to withdraw cases already filed in court based on preliminary audit findings similar to the events that transpired in the Echiverri cases in 2018. ### Public Information and Media Relations Bureau Office of the Ombudsman Telephone No. 8479.7300 local 2122
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