New Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla is planning to revive the deployment of resident ombudsmen to serve as watchdogs in corruption-prone government agencies, a practice that has been stalled for years despite an existing agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Audit (COA).
The revival of the resident ombudsmen deputization program is among key initiatives Remulla is planning to launch in the coming days as part of his aim to make the agency a ‘more proactive’ body.
‘I really believe that one overlooked aspect is the proactive aspect that the ombudsman should be playing in our society. Because the origin of the ombudsman is that it is the ‘protector of the people’ and we have to protect public interest all the time,’ Remulla said at a press briefing Friday.
‘I think the proactive role has not been used at all in the past. Its function is not only to put people in jail or dismiss officials from service, those are not the only roles of the ombudsman,’ he added.
Remulla pointed out that deputizing resident ombudsmen in select government agencies could be an effective proactive measure to safeguard public coffers from corruption.
‘(I want) the re-establishment of resident ombudsmen in various government agencies. I think a lot of agencies need to have it reinstated, because there’s no one reminding them anymore that they’re already violating the law,’ he said.
In 2021, the ombudsman signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the DOJ and COA for the designation of DOJ prosecutors and COA auditors as ‘resident ombudsmen’ in graft-prone government agencies.
Under the MOA, the state prosecutors and auditors, acting as resident ombudsmen, shall act on complaints and reports against officials and employees of the agencies where they were assigned; serve as watchdogs and implementers of corruption prevention programs and monitor compliance with existing anti-graft laws and regulations.
While the MOA remains effective, Remulla said it is no longer being implemented.
Additionally, the ombudsman will also soon establish a Public Interest Office which will receive complaints from the public against government agencies.
Marcos to release SALN
President Marcos and all officials under the executive branch are ready to make public their statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) as part of the government’s efforts to combat corruption, Malacañang maintained yesterday.
Remulla, who was appointed by Marcos as ombudsman last week, earlier said he would issue a memorandum this week to reverse the access restriction on SALNs imposed during the Duterte administration.
‘Whatever is appropriate, whatever the law says and whatever is best to fight corruption, everyone in the executive department will follow,’ Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.
When pressed whether the President is willing to release his own SALN if requested, Castro said: ‘Everyone in the executive department is ready.’
Castro also took a jab at Vice President Sara Duterte after the latter said she would not appoint Remulla, a former secretary of justice, as ombudsman if she were the president.
‘It just so happened that she’s not the president. So, it’s hard to respond to a dream that won’t happen today,’ Castro said.
‘But we know that the President thinks well, knows better,’ the Palace press officer said.
Castro also reminded Duterte that it was the President who revealed corruption in government projects and he would not tolerate or side with those who steal public funds.
Remulla’s predecessor, Samuel Martires, had imposed restrictions on public access to government officials’ SALN, including that of the President.
Amid public outrage over flood control corruption, a lawmaker revived calls to pass the Freedom of Information bill into law in order to promote transparency in government.
‘Transparency should not stop with the disclosure of SALNs. The people have the right to access information about how their government operates and how public funds are spent,’ Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos said.
‘Restoring public access to SALNs is a major victory for transparency, but it should only be the beginning,’ he noted. ‘We must go further by enacting the FOI law so that transparency becomes the rule, not the exception.’