Office of the Ombudsman

FY 2027 budget and anti-corruption mandate: The Office of the Ombudsman's FY 2027 NEP recommendation was PHP 7.232 billion, including automatic appropriations, against its PHP 12.796 billion original proposal. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla described the work as gathering facts and evidence and filing cases, a slow process that must proceed carefully through Regional Trial Courts and the Sandiganbayan. He said the office works to identify and address problems in the justice system and government. Director IV Christopher B. Lim framed the program around fact-finding and case build-up, prosecution, administrative adjudication, graft prevention and public assistance, as well as enforcing administrative, civil and criminal liability.

2027 proposed budget and fiscal autonomy: The FY 2027 recommendation included automatic appropriations. Lim said the amount followed the Constitution and RA 6770 provisions on fiscal autonomy, including that the office's appropriation may not be reduced below the prior year's amount. He described the proposed level as 0.1% of the PHP 7.2 trillion National Expenditure Program.

Budget composition and program allocations: The proposed totals were presented as PHP 3,760,765,000 for personnel services (52%); PHP 2,444,135,000 for maintenance and other operating expenses (33.79%); PHP 857,100,000 for capital outlay (11.85%); PHP 168,332,000 for retirement and life insurance premiums (2.33%); and PHP 2,602,000 as the office's Military Council Fund share (0.04%). By program, the presentation listed general administration and support at PHP 4,905,983,000 (67.83%); support to operations at PHP 147,000,000 (2.04%); Anti-Corruption Investigation at PHP 945,737,000 (13.08%); Anti-Corruption Enforcement at PHP 721,168,000 (9.97%); Ombudsman Public Assistance at PHP 290,934,000 (4.02%); Corruption Prevention at PHP 211,758,000 (2.93%); and the locally funded Whistleblower Account Reward at PHP 10,000,000 (0.14%). The presentation labels the program comparison as 2026 budget versus 2027 DBM-NEP and states figures in thousands for that comparison; the amounts above are the stated peso amounts.

Staffing, operations, technology and facilities: The salient provisions included PHP 1.662 billion for filling positions and PHP 169.381 million for pensions. Terminal and retirement gratuity benefits were stated at PHP 78.869 million mandatory and PHP 310.758 million optional, PHP 389.627 million total. MOOE was described as about PHP 2.446 billion, including PHP 51.468 million in confidential expenses for investigation, prosecution and graft prevention. The presentation also cited PHP 2.602 million for training from the office's Military Council Fund share; PHP 247 million in MOOE and PHP 250.519 million in capital outlay for ICT requirements, PHP 497.549 million combined, to support IT infrastructure modernization; a document-storage building (amount unclear in the transcript) to preserve and retrieve case records and evidence; PHP 95.031 million to continue replacing depreciated office equipment; and PHP 500 million as funding support for purchasing an Ombudsman building under a lease-purchase arrangement. The transcript's account of these line items is uneven in places; amounts are reported as stated, without reconciling apparent differences between the component totals and summary figures.

Reported program performance: Lim compared 2025 targets with actuals and 2026 targets with accomplishments recorded as of June 30, 2026. The presentation reported 28.08% against a 10% 2025 target and 41.9% against an 11% 2026 target for a measure described as completed case-build-up reports and fact-finding investigations or lifestyle checks resulting in criminal or administrative filings. For completed case-build-up reports and investigations/checks it separately stated 55.05% against 21% in 2025 and 14.33% against a 22% 2026 target. Other reported measures included criminal cases investigated and resolved at 46.31% against a 41% target in 2025 and 21.07% against 41% in 2026; cases resolved within one year at 46.16% against a 26% target in 2025 and 57.88% against 34% in 2026; court cases tried without an approved demurrer at 73.18% against 21% in 2025 and 18.4% against 25% in 2026; and criminal or civil cases decided with at least one conviction at 50.60% against 28% in 2025 and 65.03% against 28% in 2026. For administrative adjudication, it reported 46.12% against a 41% target in 2025 and 19.18% against 41% in 2026; adjudication within one year was 49.13% against 27% in 2025 and 69.59% against 34% in 2026. Public-assistance measures were reported as frontline-service ratings of at least "very satisfactory" at 98.62% against an 81% target in 2025 and 98.37% against 82% in 2026, and requests/grievances acted on within the prescribed time at 94.25% against 78% in 2025 and 92.53% against 80% in 2026. For corruption prevention, integrity-promotion beneficiaries were 97.65% against an 81% target in 2025 and 98.39% against 85% in 2026. Several indicator labels and transitions in the source transcript are garbled or compressed, so these are the figures and descriptions that can be followed in the presentation, not a reconstructed indicator table. The old advocate-mobilization indicator is especially unclear: the transcript says a target of 6,000 and an accomplishment rendered as "14.096"; it then describes a new training indicator with an 85% 2026 target and a 352.29% June accomplishment. These figures and labels need caution rather than correction by inference.

Utilization and Commission on Audit results: For the first semester, the presentation stated a 45.14% obligation-utilization rate and a 96.44% disbursement-utilization rate for major programs and projects. It also gave annual obligation and disbursement utilization comparisons for 2021-2025, but the transcript's 2021 obligation figure and parts of the average are not reliably separable; the remaining clearly rendered annual rates should not be treated as a complete, normalized series. For Commission on Audit findings and recommendations, Lim reported 22 total: 16 implemented, 6 partially implemented and none not yet implemented. He added that COA rendered an unmodified opinion on the fairness of presentation of the OMB financial statements for 2025.

Additional requests and proposed special provisions: For the 2027 deliberations, the office identified a new-building purchase as a five-year installment acquisition amounting to PHP 7.3 billion, funding for an Ombudsman Marshal and additional positions to augment general administration and support, additional confidential funds, and motor vehicles for officials and general dispatch. The transcript states PHP 1,836,351,000 for the total in the motor-vehicle request passage, but its syntax does not make clear how that total relates to the preceding requests. Lim also sought restatement, with minor modification, of special provisions in the 2026 General Appropriations Act. These would authorize use of savings to augment deficiencies for purposes including publication of decisions and training materials, office and equipment repair, equipment and reference purchases, temporary staffing, authorized benefits and allowances, and other lawful official purposes, subject to budgeting and auditing rules. The proposed provisions also cover use of authorized income, direct release of retirement benefits and pensions for specified officials and employees with salary grades 26-29, and retirement eligibility for the Ombudsman, deputies and Special Prosecutor under the stated service conditions. Lim characterized these provisions as safeguards for constitutional independence and fiscal autonomy and asked that they be included in the Senate's General Appropriations Bill.

Closing case for budget support: In closing, Lim linked corruption with poverty and argued that reducing corruption can increase government savings available for poverty-alleviation projects. He asked the Senate to recognize the office's role in investigation, case build-up and enforcement of administrative, civil and criminal liability. The office committed that needed budget support would be used purposefully to strengthen public confidence in the Ombudsman as a watchdog, mobilizer, official critic and dispenser of justice.

Ombudsman 2027 original request and NEP recommendation: Assistant Ombudsman Luis Gonzaga S. Bonoan Jr. described the original-to-NEP reduction as about PHP 5.5 billion. The office separately identified PHP 1.836351 billion in additional priority requirements for a building installment, Marshal Service, staffing, confidential funds and vehicles; that narrower list did not represent the whole reduction. The proposed building purchase was PHP 7.3 billion over five years, distinct from its roughly PHP 1.465 billion immediate installment.

Priority restoration and possible personnel realignment: Ombudsman officials requested PHP 1.836351 billion for selected priorities, led by a roughly PHP 1.465-billion first building installment, the Marshal Service, staffing, confidential funds and vehicles. Senator Panfilo Lacson asked the office to rank indispensable restorations from the much larger original-to-NEP cut. Senator Panfilo Lacson supported a Marshal funding request of PHP 163.68 million for personnel and PHP 3.799 million for operations, reporting an informal indication of support from the chair. He also proposed moving part of an existing PHP 1.68-billion personnel lump sum that might not be obligated quickly into the Marshal and other priorities; Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said this was possible. No exact realignment or restored appropriation was adopted in that exchange.

Committee submission with amendments: Senator Vicente C. Sotto III moved to submit and approve the Ombudsman budget with proposed amendments. Committee Chair Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito seconded, then stated that the budget was deemed submitted for plenary consideration subject to further discussion and requested documents. The record does not fix a final amount for the amendments or show enactment. Committee Chair Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito also asked whether more investigative staffing was needed; Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla identified faster hiring as the immediate constraint.

Opening, attendance and agenda: Chair Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito called the FY 2027 Office of the Ombudsman budget briefing to order, acknowledged Senators Vicente C. Sotto III and Panfilo Lacson, and asked the committee secretary to acknowledge the resource persons. The secretary introduced the Ombudsman and officials from that office, along with invited DBM and COA resource persons. Ejercito framed the hearing around whether the proposed budget would support the Ombudsman’s work and produce public accountability, faster action and trust in government. He connected this to public expectations for a prompt, fair and independent investigation amid allegations of anomalies in flood control projects, and said scrutiny should consider what the budget enables, including investigations, case resolution, monitoring and enforcement. This was the Chair’s opening framing, not an agency presentation or a finding about the allegations.

Judicial marshal bureau proposal: Sotto said he had questions for the budget presentation but was especially interested in what had happened to the proposal to create a judicial marshal bureau. He asked what budget it would require and what bill, law, or amendment to the Ombudsman’s law would be needed. No answer appears in this opening unit.

Lacson passes; Ombudsman called to present: When recognized, Lacson said he had nothing to raise. The Chair thanked him and called on Ombudsman Remulla to deliver an opening statement and present the Office of the Ombudsman’s FY 2027 proposed expenditure program, handing the floor to the agency.

Vacant plantilla positions and hiring delays: Sotto asked why only 49% of plantilla positions were filled and whether that figure included regional offices. Ombudsman Remulla said hiring was underway but required rigorous screening. The office had hired 60 lawyers in 2026 and expected to hire 40 more by November; those selected in August had applied as early as January or February, making the process about seven or eight months to fill an item. Remulla said the office had more than 2,000 plantilla positions and 1,300-plus personnel, and was filling vacancies. He said the planned 100 lawyer hires, including the 60 already hired, drew 3,700 applicants. Government plantilla rules and the personnel selection board, which gives priority to internal candidates for promotion, added time. Sotto concluded that the budget for filling the positions was available and Remulla was trying to fill them soon; Remulla agreed. Remulla did not directly clarify in this exchange whether the 49% figure included regional offices.

Office space and planned building purchase: Remulla said the Ombudsman faced space constraints: its office was small, and its buildings could not provide a suitable setup for lawyers. He said the office was asking for and purchasing a new building. The exchange gives no cost, location, or schedule for the purchase.

Internal Affairs Bureau: Sotto asked whether the Ombudsman had a department or bureau that investigates its own personnel. Remulla confirmed that the office has an Internal Affairs Bureau.

Waste-hauling contracts and proposed investigation: Before moving for approval of the Ombudsman budget, subject to proposed amendments, Sotto asked Remulla to explain his reported concern about corruption in local-government garbage services and how LGUs could stop it. Remulla characterized some large waste haulers as basura kings operating in Manila, Metro Manila and elsewhere, and said the issue extended nationwide. He described a gap between local-government garbage collection and follow-through on the DENR's work: segregation and sanitary landfills were not consistently completed, and sites became dumps. He said the DENR should have a greater role, and characterized contracted dumping arrangements and the large budgets for garbage as opportunities to profit. Sotto agreed the problem was nationwide, and Remulla said his earlier comments had touched a raw nerve because he believed the pattern was real. When Sotto asked whether the Ombudsman could help local officials understand the pattern and where residents were losing out, Remulla committed to create a special investigative team and said the office would do it. The exchange names no hauler, LGU, contract, amount or specific case and gives no timetable or team membership.

Ombudsman Marshal Service and funding realignment: Lacson said he had filed Senate Bill No. 2394 to amend Section 15 of the Ombudsman Law and establish an Ombudsman Marshal Service. He cited a 2027 request of PHP 163.68 million for personnel services and PHP 3.799 million for maintenance and other operating expenses. Lacson said the Chair had told him the request was approved and that they would find a source for realignment. He recalled augmenting the Judiciary marshal budget by PHP 50 million in 2021 before its measure had passed, and said a constitutional body could align its budget to augment an item as long as it was provided for. The 2021 explanation is partially unclear in the transcript, so this account does not infer a specific funding source or procedure beyond Lacson's stated point.

Budget reduction and priority items for restoration: Lacson asked the Ombudsman to prioritize items for restoration. Assistant Ombudsman Luis Gonzaga S. Bonoan, Jr. described a PHP 5.5 billion deficiency across general administration and support (PHP 4.1 billion), support to operations (PHP 500 million), and the anti-corruption investigation program (PHP 300 million). Lacson clarified that he wanted the office to rank the indispensable items for restoration, rather than repeat the cut schedule. Remulla identified a new office building (PHP 1.465 billion), the Ombudsman Marshal creation (more than PHP 167 million), additional confidential funds (PHP 148 million), and motor vehicles for officials and general dispatch as priority items, saying they amounted to PHP 1.8 billion. Lacson compared the Ombudsman's 0.1% share of the budget with Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption at 0.38%, which he said would imply a PHP 25.8 billion budget by that benchmark. He said the comparison could arise in plenary and raised PHP 1.68 billion in lump-sum personnel services appropriations for 1,247 vacant positions (a 51.1% vacancy rate).

Vacancy funding, hiring capacity and possible reallocation: Lacson asked how confident the Ombudsman was that it could fill the 1,247 positions funded by the PHP 1.68 billion item. Remulla said that, if given the opportunity, the office could hire more than 400 people within another year, but filling the gap would take around three years if the budget allowed. Lacson observed that the full amount might not be obligated within the two-year continuing-appropriations period. Remulla agreed that the office's absorptive capacity and limited experience managing a large workforce meant hiring had to be phased. Lacson suggested that a portion of the PHP 1.68 billion could be realigned to the Ombudsman Marshal Service for amounts absorbable in that two-year period, while other priority needs could be addressed through realignment from other agencies. Remulla said this could be done. The exchange discusses a possible approach; it does not record a completed realignment. Lacson closed his own questions by saying he fully supported recommending the Ombudsman budget to plenary.

Marshal staffing, leadership and implementation timeline: Chair Ejercito asked how many positions the proposed Ombudsman Marshal Service would have and how the office would justify a new enforcement service while the Ombudsman had about a 50% vacancy rate. Bonoan said the request was for 100 marshal positions across the country, covering sectoral offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and that the office hoped to establish a separate Ombudsman Marshal office alongside its ongoing hiring. Ejercito asked for a realistic timeline to recruit, vet and train marshals so the funds would not remain unspent, but Lacson interjected to ask whether the Ombudsman had someone in mind to head the service. Remulla said an assistant ombudsman was qualified to head the service. Lacson said the role need not necessarily go to a lawyer if the candidate had 10 years of law-enforcement or investigative experience. No recruitment or training timeline is given in this unit.

Statutory fiscal autonomy and budget proposal review: Lacson asked for the Ombudsman's position on receiving statutory fiscal-autonomy protections like those he said had been strengthened for the judiciary by the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act. Remulla initially answered that he supported fiscal autonomy for the judiciary, while saying tough questions should be asked before granting it. Lacson clarified that he meant parallel statutory protection for the Ombudsman, extending autonomy beyond implementation and spending to the preparation and submission of its budget proposal. He said the Judiciary's proposed budget had still been reduced in the NEP despite its new law, by an amount he estimated at PHP 2 billion or PHP 3 billion, and argued that the Ombudsman's proposal remained subject to DBCC processing and cuts. He asked whether similar proposal-stage protection would strengthen the office's integrity and independence in budgeting. Remulla said the Ombudsman could use that protection and it would be beneficial if achieved, with the condition that the office be transparent about everything it did. The Chair then noted that the FY 2027 budget complied with Section 38 of RA 6770, which he said provides that the Office of the Ombudsman shall enjoy fiscal autonomy in its appropriations. Lacson distinguished that existing constitutional and statutory language from the proposal-stage protection he was asking about: in his account, current autonomy covered budget execution, while the proposed budget still went through the DBCC for processing or vetting and Congress retained its power of review and the purse. Remulla added that absorptive capacity should be a test; in his view, requests beyond an office's ability to spend would waste resources. The exchange records support for considering additional protection and a transparency qualification, not enactment of a new law or a settled change to the budget process.

Taguig waste-hauler inquiry and Senate support: Picking up the preceding discussion about waste, Lacson said he had been tempted to inquire about Taguig but did not want to be accused of conducting a demolition job. He said his office was quietly assisting the Ombudsman and described the workload: even its case studies in Bulacan, Mindoro and Taguig consumed staff time, while the Ombudsman faced many complex graft and corruption cases beyond flood control. Lacson said he supported the Ombudsman's efforts, including help with the proposed marshal service and fiscal autonomy, and assured Remulla that the Senate under its President would stand behind the office.

Disbursement, hiring and investigative capacity: Ejercito pointed to more than PHP 500 million in unused funds in one year from 2023 to 2025 and said actual cash disbursement had fallen to 87.3 last year; the transcript gives no unit for 87.3. He asked where the bottleneck lay and how the office could justify a larger budget. Ombudsman Remulla identified the stringent hiring process as a bottleneck and said the office needed more full-time investigators. He said he wanted to streamline hiring so the office could focus on each crime and official under investigation.

Case timelines and the courts: Ejercito asked about cases left dormant for years. Remulla said a study found cases filed in 1987 still pending in the Sandiganbayan, and many cases with a 15-year history; he warned that prolonged proceedings can end in dismissal. He described an ideal target of presenting cases continuously within one year of filing, to keep evidence and witness recollections fresh and reduce problems such as lost evidence or witnesses. The target depended on cooperation from the Sandiganbayan. Ejercito agreed that prosecution is only one half of the process and said completed work can be dismissed or weakened in the judiciary. The exchange framed faster case presentation as an aspiration, not a guaranteed result.

Witness protection and a BARMM presence: On the confidential-fund request, which Ejercito described as PHP 148 million requested and PHP 50 million approved, Remulla said funds would help establish safe quarters for witnesses and sometimes marshals. He also disclosed a decision to hire an assistant Ombudsman for BARMM, saying the post would carry risk and require protection. He presented a local presence as part of including a region he considered long neglected. Remulla recalled that, as a legislator in 2005, he had investigated missing GSIS contributions for teachers and a PHP 7 billion cash advance by the then Secretary of Education, with little recourse at that time. The hearing did not establish how the PHP 148 million and PHP 50 million figures relate to the later PHP 54 million confidential-fund discussion.

Backlog, deadlines and investigation costs: Asked for the backlog as of June 30, 2026, Assistant Ombudsman Luis Gonzaga S. Bonoan, Jr. reported 4,219 pending cases: 1,955 criminal, 6 forfeiture and 2,258 administrative. He said the office had streamlined its procedural rules, shortening fact-finding investigations from as long as one year to 60 days for simple cases and 90 days for complex cases. Ejercito connected this work with approximately PHP 913 million allocated for investigations and asked how the amount would improve investigations. Bonoan said it would help investigators meet nationwide investigation expenses.

Corruption cases, lifestyle checks and staffing: Ejercito asked about developments in a major corruption scandal and the people behind it, while stressing that cases had to be airtight. Remulla reported 35 cases before the courts, 31 in the Sandiganbayan and 4 in Regional Trial Courts; he also cited 166 cases under preliminary investigation and 107 lifestyle checks. He said improving lifestyle checks could support more forfeiture cases and encourage people to provide information. Asked whether the office had investigators and technical specialists for complex infrastructure-procurement cases, Remulla said hiring more people was the main need. He reported that 60 young lawyers had already been hired and another batch of 40 was expected by November, while internal promotion processes and the need to work within the organization's culture slowed hiring. He expected the additional staff and a streamlined process to help investigations, case resolution and prosecution. The answer did not allocate staff or the case counts specifically to flood-control matters.

Office location and building acquisition: Ejercito raised the Quezon City office's limited public-transport access and asked about a more accessible site. Remulla said the target was near the Senate and argued that buying an existing building was currently cheaper than constructing one, with less opportunity for corruption and fewer delays. He cited the Macapagal-area integration building as a project that took eight to ten years and criticized its expense and driveway. Lacson interjected that construction would make DPWH the implementing agency, which he called bad news; Sotto added a brief comment. The exchange expressed a preference for purchasing a finished building, but did not specify its cost or commit to a final location.

Proposal to dedicate restitution proceeds: Lacson suggested that an amendment to the Ombudsman Act could earmark 10% or 20% of amounts restituted to the national government or Treasury as additional funding for the office, protected by law from being redirected. He compared the idea with a revenue-sharing arrangement and said the proposal could be considered at a later committee hearing. Remulla thanked him, and Lacson said he saw no legal infirmity. This was a proposal raised for possible legislation, not an adopted funding commitment.

Ombudsman Marshal implementation: Sotto cautioned that the Office of the Ombudsman should avoid delays like those he described for the Supreme Court Judiciary Marshal: the law took effect in 2022, but a Chief Marshal was appointed only in 2025. Remulla said the office had someone in mind and was learning from the Supreme Court's experience so it could move more quickly. The exchange records an intended appointment and a commitment to avoid delay, without naming a candidate or giving an appointment date.

Public oversight, case data and promised reports: Ejercito relayed questions from the People's Budget Coalition about investigations and lifestyle checks opened, completed and pending, their outcomes, priority cases involving senior officials or grave offenses, and sanctions or implementation of Ombudsman decisions. Remulla read several 2025 figures: an opening balance of 131 case-build-up matters; 1,224 fact-finding matters, which he said brought a total to 1,355; newly instituted case-build-up, fact-finding and lifestyle-check counts of 29, 667 and 696; and 99 case-build-up matters plus 1,030 lifestyle checks disposed of, for a stated total of 1,129. He offered to submit the table. Asked what share of resources went to priority cases, Remulla said he could not tally it then but would comply with the committee. He also agreed to submit figures on officials sanctioned and decisions implemented, overturned, modified or appealed. For civil-society participation, he invited complaints and said more comprehensive statements supporting allegations would let the office act faster. The oral counts were not presented as a complete, clearly cross-tabulated data set.

Confidential-fund justification and limits: Ejercito relayed a media question about a PHP 54 million confidential-fund amount and a reported PHP 1 million level in 2024 and 2025. Remulla said the office was pursuing investigations more aggressively and needed confidential funds to purchase information and support investigations. Sotto called PHP 54 million small relative to the Ombudsman's work. Ejercito said the budget hearings would confine confidential funds to law-enforcement, investigative and national-security agencies, and included the Ombudsman among them; he said the PHP 54 million request was justified. The source's comparison between the PHP 54 million and the reported PHP 1 million is unclear, so the two figures are reported separately without reconciling them.

Resident Ombudsman deployment to revenue agencies: Chair Ejercito asked for the Resident Ombudsman Program's current status, including the number of active resident ombudsmen, deployment across agencies, and recent accomplishments or challenges. Assistant Ombudsman Luis Gonzaga S. Bonoan, Jr. said the administration had reactivated the Bureau of the Resident Ombudsman, which had been inactive for several years, and hired 10 additional lawyers to support it. After proper training, the office planned to field them in different agencies, particularly high-revenue-generating agencies, to investigate and collect complaints. Bonoan did not give a count of active deployed resident ombudsmen or describe recent accomplishments or challenges; the deployment was a plan, not a report of completed placements. The Chair thanked him and moved toward closing the hearing.

Information purchases to strengthen corruption cases: Gatchalian said the PHP 54 million under discussion was small relative to the gravity of the corruption cases the Ombudsman must resolve. He said legitimate information purchases were needed to establish evidence, strengthen cases and improve the chance of winning them, and considered PHP 51 million well justified for that purpose. The two amounts are stated separately in the exchange; no reconciliation is given.

Barangay terms, complaints and Ombudsman authority: Gatchalian asked Remulla for his view on a proposed five-year barangay captain term and what constituents could do when a captain was inactive, not working or corrupt. Remulla did not state a view on the proposed term extension. He said the Ombudsman can dismiss barangay captains who fail to do their jobs if complainants bring a substantiated complaint and are prepared to prove it. Remulla added that many Ombudsman dismissals have been reversed by the Court of Appeals, which he described as discouraging and a dilemma for the office. He cited a case he encountered as Justice Secretary involving an Ombudsman-dismissed NBI employee whose dismissal the Court of Appeals reversed, and questioned what authority remained if those decisions were reversed.

Judicial delays and coordination across the justice system: Gatchalian said the justice process appeared stalled, noting his understanding that Sandiganbayan cases took an average of 15 years and that the Court of Appeals reversed many Ombudsman decisions. He asked what the Ombudsman was doing with the judiciary to make justice more effective, efficient, faster and fair for constituents. Remulla recalled a Justice Sector Coordinating Council involving the courts, DOJ and DILG when he was Justice Secretary; the European Union funded that program. He said a similar mechanism might include the Ombudsman to speed up justice. Remulla argued that the judiciary should be examined and held to account, and that uncertainty about when cases will conclude can affect business investment. Asked about judicial feedback, he said he speaks with Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, who sometimes questions his public comments; Remulla said the issue still needed to be aired openly. Gatchalian supported improving the justice system, saying failures across the accountability chain from the Ombudsman to the judiciary disadvantage the public. No new coordination body or specific judicial response is reported as established in this exchange.

Integrity promotion and anti-corruption education for young people: Gatchalian asked why the integrity promotion program, intended to build anti-corruption advocates and address official abuse, had risen from PHP 44 million to PHP 148 million. He supported educating students about corruption, its consequences and the purpose of public service. Remulla said the office hosts students and good-governance advocates in a small auditorium for dialogue and observation, and viewed these visits as an effective way to reach young people in high school during their formative years. He said the effort should start with youth and teach that corruption is wrong; he confirmed it was directed toward children. Gatchalian illustrated the need with job seekers who, in his account, often request recommendations for Customs for the wrong reasons instead of considering DOST or other agencies. Remulla said he had encountered similar preferences for Customs, Immigration, LTO and BIR, and that revenue-generating agencies attracted many applicants; he said proper leadership had improved conduct at the Bureau of Immigration during his time as Justice Secretary. Gatchalian supported changing young people's outlook early.

Corruption perceptions and support for enforcement: In a brief intervention, Gatchalian said the Philippines faced a major challenge in improving perceptions of corruption. He cited a corruption-perception ranking change from 144 to 120 over three years, described it as a decline, and called the Philippines the third most corrupt in Southeast Asia after Myanmar and Cambodia. He connected corruption perceptions and ease of doing business with weak demand for the peso and lack of investment, and said corruption affected the country, overseas Filipino workers and ordinary Filipinos. He endorsed Lacson's call to help the Ombudsman and judiciary fight corruption and urged collective action. No government response appears in this unit; Ejercito thanked him and yielded the floor to Senator Erwin Tulfo.

Authorized staffing and specialist plantilla positions: Tulfo noted that the Ombudsman requested 2,439 authorized positions while 1,192 were filled, and asked whether the positions were mainly investigators, whether lawyers were needed, and what kinds of roles were included. Remulla said the office needed more lawyers and technical investigators, including engineers who could help identify infrastructure fraud and corruption, as well as specialists in investigating other kinds of crime. Tulfo checked whether these were regular rather than contractual jobs; Remulla confirmed they were plantilla positions. Tulfo accepted the clarification and ended his turn.

Budget motion, plenary referral and suspension: Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente C. Sotto III moved to submit and approve the Office of the Ombudsman's budget together with the proposed amendments. Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito seconded the motion. Ejercito then stated that, having been moved and seconded, the budget was deemed submitted for plenary consideration, subject to further discussion and submission of the requested documents. He thanked Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla and the agency officials, then said the briefing was suspended. The chair's statement records referral to plenary consideration, not final approval of the budget.