Office of the Ombudsman

The budget briefing is now called to order.

First, acknowledgment of members and resource persons. Secretary Jess.

Good morning, Your Honors.

May we acknowledge the following members present today: Vice Chair Rufus Rodriguez;

Assistant Minority Leader Iris Montes; Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez;

Assistant Minority Leader Chel Diokno; Deputy Majority Leader Crispin Remulla;

Vice Chair Lalo Matugas; Vice Chair Gerryboy Espina; Vice Chair Ma. Cristina Talavera Lopez;

Vice Chair Mike Tan; Rep. Ricardo Cruz; Representative Johnny Pimentel;

Representative Salvador Pleyto;

Representative Girlie Veloso; Representative Eulogio Rodriguez; Representative Toby Tiangco; and from the

Office of the Ombudsman, we have Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla. Good morning, sir. Deputy Ombudsman

Jose M. Balmeo, Jr.; our Special Prosecutor, Justice Mariflor Punzalan Castillo; Assistant

Ombudsman Margaret Raizza Andaman; Assistant Ombudsman Luigi Bonoan, Jr.;

Assistant Ombudsman Jose Dominic Clavano IV; Assistant Ombudsman Eliseo DC Cruz. That's all, Your Honor.

Thank you very much, ComSec. So, uh, first of all, let me welcome our Honorable Ombudsman,

our very own was with us in the congress the house of representatives uh former secretary of justice

now the Ombudsman, Boying. Welcome.

i would also like to welcome everyone for this briefing of the office of the ombudsman

headed by Ombudsman Remulla. The Office of the Ombudsman, one of the constitutional bodies

established under the 1987 constitution has a recommended budget of 7.06 billion for fiscal year

2027. This represents an increase of approximately 10%.

from its current fiscal year 2026 budget of 6.42 billion and accounts for

about 0.15 percent of the 4.6-trillion national government budget. This proposed increase will

provide additional resources

to strengthen the Office's mandate

and key programs, particularly its Anti-Corruption Investigation Program, the Anti-Corruption

Enforcement Program, the Ombudsman Public Assistance Program, and the Corruption Prevention

Program.

The Office of the Ombudsman plays a vital role in upholding accountability—I repeat

again—accountability and integrity in public service.

Through the investigation and case build-up, as well as the enforcement of administrative,

civil and criminal liability, the Office contributes significantly to ensuring that they will

effectively be able to—the government operates efficiently, responsibly, and effectively

and in accordance with law.

Given this crucial mandate, the Office of the Ombudsman rightly looks to Congress, and

particularly the House of Representatives, for the necessary budgetary support to enable

it to effectively discharge its constitutional functions—not only for fiscal year 2027

but also in the years ahead.

At the same time, we recognize that every peso appropriated

by Congress carries with it a responsibility to the Filipino people.

The resources entrusted to this Office of the Ombudsman

must therefore be utilized judiciously, efficiently,

and with the highest standards of accountability.

We trust that this Office will continue to use the support provided by Congress

with the same zeal and dedication in carrying out its mandate

and strengthening public confidence in the Ombudsman as the watchdog,

I repeat, the watchdog of government, mobilizer for accountability,

official critic of wrongdoing, and dispenser of justice.

Ultimately, our common objective is clear,

to protect public funds,

uphold equality,

integrity in government,

and ensure that the public office remains a service to the Filipino people.

The Filipino people deserve no less.

Uh, thank you very much.

Now, we would like to ask the Office of the Ombudsman

for the, the Ombudsman, uh,

the Honorable Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla,

you may now proceed with your presentation.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, members of the House,

members of the Committee, and former colleagues, my former colleagues.

And, of course, uh, present here with me is the team from the Ombudsman's Office

to present our budget.

And this opportunity is very important for us to be able to face, uh, the members of the House

which is in charge of the appropriations of the Philippine government.

And, uh, if there's one thing that can be said about what we do,

or how we handle our job,

at least personally on my side,

I cannot wait every morning to get to the office.

It's something that we love to do.

We believe that, uh, serving the country is a most noble calling,

and that, uh, the people deserve the best service from all of us.

And, uh, to be able to help me present the budget will be Assistant Ombudsman Luigi Bonoan.

Thank you. Good morning.

Assistant Ombudsman Luigi Bonoan is recognized.

Good morning, Your Honors.

Today we have actually prepared PowerPoint, uh, to show the members of the Committee

on our achievements as well as our budgetary needs.

And to delve into this more, um, I'd like to introduce our Director, uh, OIC,

the Head of the Financial Services of the Office of the Ombudsman,

Director Christopher Lim, to, uh, present the PowerPoint.

Thank you, Your Honors.

Director Christopher Lim is now recognized to present the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have the honor to present to you the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman for fiscal year 2027.

So, the Office of the Ombudsman shall strive to continue the faithful performance

of its constitutional mandate,

especially as it relates to the fight against corruption through the following measures,

fact-finding and or case build-up, prosecution, administrative adjudication,

graft prevention, and auxiliary public assistance services.

So, going now to the highlights and major thrusts of the FY2027 budget,

the recommended budget level by the Department of Budget and Management

for the Office of the Ombudsman for 2027

is ₱7,232,934,000, including automatic appropriations in conformity

with the pronouncement of the Constitution and its enabling law,

R.A. No. 6770, on fiscal autonomy,

that appropriations of the Office of the Ombudsman may not be reduced

below the amount appropriated from the previous years.

It represents 0.1% of the national expenditure program

of ₱7.2 trillion.

The details of the recommendation with comparative figures

for the 2026 current budget and the 2027 DBM-NEP

are summarized on the screen.

For personal services, it consists of ₱3,760,765,000.

For maintenance and other operating expenses,

it’s ₱2,444,135,000.

For capital outlay, it's ₱857,100,000.

For automatic appropriations, ₱168,332,000.

And OMB share in MCSF, or Military Camp Sales Fund,

is ₱2,602,000.

For a total regular agency budget of ₱7,232,934,000.

Uh, with respect to comparative data for the 2026 budget

and the 2027 DBM-NEP per program, uh, including RLIP, uh,

for general administration and support, consists of

₱4,905,983,000.

It comprises of 67.83% of the budget structure.

For support to operations, it's ₱147,354,000, or 2.04%.

For anti-corruption investigation program,

it is ₱945,737,000, or 13.08%.

For anti-corruption enforcement program,

₱721,168,000, or 9.97%.

For ombudsman public assistance program,

it's ₱290,934,000, or 4.02%.

For anti-corruption prevention program,

it's ₱211,758,000, or 2.93%.

And for locally funded projects,

such as, uh, whistleblower account rewards,

it's ₱10,000,000, uh, which is 0.14%,

for a total of 100%.

So the salient features of the recommendation are as follows.

Requirements for the filling up of position

in the amount of ₱1.662 billion.

Allocation for pension benefits

in the amount of ₱169,381,000.

Provision for terminal leave

and retirement gratuity benefits.

For mandatory, it's ₱78,869,000.

And for optional, ₱310,758,000,

for a total of ₱389,627,000.

The recommended maintenance

and other operating expenses amounting to ₱2.4 billion

include a provision of ₱51.468 million

for confidential expenses

in support of the Office of the Ombudsman's

constitutionally mandated functions

of investigation, prosecution, and graft prevention.

Additional provision of ₱2,602,000

for training to be charged against

the Ombudsman's share

of the Military Camp Sales Proceeds Fund.

Allocation for the agency's information, communications,

technology requirements

in the total amount of ₱497,549,000,

MOOE of ₱247,000,000,

and CO component of ₱250,000,000

to support, uh, the Office of the Ombudsman IT system

and infrastructure modernization initiatives.

The construction of a document storage building

for Ombudsman Visayas

is provided an amount of ₱11.5 million

in view of the agency's critical mandate

to investigate and prosecute cases

involving graft and corruption,

which requires the secure preservation,

systematic organization,

and timely retrieval of large volumes of case records,

evidence files, and administrative documents.

An amount of ₱95 million

has been retained for the continued upgrade

of depreciated office equipment,

furniture, and fixtures.

An amount of ₱500 million

as funding support for the purchase

of OMB building under a lease-purchase agreement.

So, moving on, other relevant information

to help the committee in the deliberations

of the 2027 proposed budget

Two: additional confidential funds

of ₱148,532,000;

funding requirements for the creation

of the Ombudsman Marshal

and additional positions

to augment the general administration

and support units,

motor vehicles for officials

and general dispatch,

and purchase of new building,

office building,

in the amount of ₱6.5 billion.

So,

So, we also would like to request

the restatement of special provisions

for 2026,

which are already provided in the 2026 GAA.

Number one is use of savings.

The Ombudsman is authorized to use savings

from the appropriations

of the Office of the Ombudsman to augment actual deficiencies in any item of its

appropriations for the current year which may include the following purposes printing and or

publications of decisions resolutions and training information materials repair maintenance and

improvement of central and regional offices facilities and equipment purchase of equipment

books journals and periodicals necessary expenses for the employment of temporary

contractual and casual employees and payment of extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses

and transportation allowances and other authorized benefits of its officials and

employees subject to pertinent budgeting accounting and auditing rules and regulation

Use of income. The Office of the Ombudsman may use the income it generates from fees and

other

authorized collections subject to the pertinent section in the general

provisions of this Act for purposes as may be specifically authorized during or

by applicable provisions of law. Release of payment of retirement benefits and

pensions. Appropriations authorized for the payment of, uh, retirement benefits and

pensions of the Ombudsman and his or her deputies, the Special Prosecutor and all

qualified officials and employees of the Office of the Ombudsman with salary

grade 26 to 29 under Section 2 of R.A. No. 11059 shall be released directly to the

Office of the Ombudsman subject to the computation and conditions prescribed in

applicable retirement laws, rules and regulations. Retirement of the Ombudsman,

Deputy Ombudsman or the Special Prosecutor. Service for a full term for

purposes of the retirement of the Ombudsman.

Deputy Ombudsman or the Special Prosecutor under R.A. No. 11059 may be

satisfied if the concerned official has rendered a continuous service in the

Office of the Ombudsman of at least two years as Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman or

Special Prosecutor and has rendered a cumulative service in the government for

a total of seven years including the two years rendered continuously as Ombudsman,

Deputy Ombudsman or Special Prosecutor.

In any event, an Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman or Special Prosecutor who has rendered at least seven years in

government with the last two years of the service having been rendered

continuously in the Office of the Ombudsman as Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman

or Special Prosecutor shall likewise be entitled to retire and receive during

the residue of his or her natural life the same benefits provided by the Ombudsman.

under R.A. No. 11059. An official or employee claiming retirement benefits under R.A.

No. 11059 may only do so once. So these provisions concerning use of

savings, use of income, release of payment of retirement benefits and pension and

retirement of the ombudsman, deputy ombudsman, and the special prosecutor

are indispensable safeguards that uphold the office's constitutionally guaranteed

independence and fiscal autonomy. It is earnestly hoped that the foregoing

provisions will be included in the general appropriations bill that will be

passed by the House of Representatives. So in closing, it cannot be denied that

the Philippines struggles every day with a problem of poverty and corruption.

Indeed, there is a positive association between corruption and poverty. Corruption

affects all of us, endangers our national life. It makes the poor poorer.

Reduce incidences of corruption increases government savings that can in

turn be used for poverty alleviation projects of this administration. Thus, the

office of the ombudsman earnestly hope that the House of Representatives in

considering the office of the ombudsman's budget for 2027 and that of

the succeeding years would realize the crucial role it performs in the

investigation and/or case build-up and enforcement of administrative and

criminal liability to promote efficient service by the government to the people

through its proactive approaches. The office of the ombudsman in return commits that the budgetary

support it needs will not be spent aimlessly but will be utilized with the usual zeal and

dedication to enhance the confidence of the general public in the OMB as their watchdog,

mobilizer, official critic, and dispenser of justice because

the Filipino deserves no less. Thank you, Your Honors.

Thank you for the presentation, Mr. Lim, for the Office of the Ombudsman’s budget.

Now, may I acknowledge before we proceed the members who have also are now attending this

particular hearing. We have Vice Chair Lolita Javier, Representative Arlene Ayon. We have Vice

We have Vice Chair Ma. Isabel Sagarbarria.

We have Vice Chair Bernadette Barbers. And the Deputy Majority Leader,

Baronda, and also Vice Chair Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon.

And Vice Chair Loreto Amante.

And Vice Chair Loreto Amante. So once again, so now let us start the discussions. And so, I remind our distinguished colleagues that each member is given five minutes. The clock is there.

Five minutes for questioning or interpellation, excluding the response of

the resource persons and when you hear the bell sound it means that you only

have 30 seconds that's the sound and you have only 30 seconds to wind up with

your questions as part of a long-standing and respected tradition

of the House of Representatives to accord preferential treatment to the

minority members of the house followed by the independent members and then the

majority members in an alternating manner the chair now recognizes from the

minority I have here the list now and from the minority we recognize the

Honorable Representative Iris Marie Demesa Montes

to my right.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Magandang umaga po sa lahat, Ombudsman

Remulla and to the Ombudsman family, magandang araw po sa inyo. Ilang katanungan lamang po mula sa Kababaihan, Kabalikatan para sa Kapakanan at Kaunlaran ng Bayan, or 4K Party-list. Umpisahan ko lang po muna siguro sa mga numero. Maaari ko po bang malaman: ano po ang current resolution and conviction rate ng ating opisina, and how does this compare to the previous years?

A.O. Bonoan will answer the question, Your Honor.

Yes. Assistant Ombudsman Bonoan, you are recognized.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. As of June 30,

2026 the ombudsman reached a conviction rate of 65.52% in the Sandigan

Bayan. Now you may ask what measures were taken by the office to improve the

conviction rate in the past five years and we

actually have amended our rules of procedure to fast-track both the

preliminary investigation as well as the fact-finding initiatives of our office.

So ibig sabihin po sa current year po mas mataas, nag-increase po. Tama po ba?

Yes ma'am. As 2025 ma'am our conviction rate in the Sandigan Bayan was 42% as

compared to this year's 65.52%. Thank you. Of this of this

of these cases how many corruption cases involving high-ranking officials

perhaps from salary grade 29 and above have been filed, resolved and

prosecuted?

Your Honor, um, I can, uh, I can answer your question, uh, by

distinguishing between our conviction rate in the Sandigan Bayan which

prosecutes high-ranking government officials ranked SG 27 and

above and lower courts which prosecute those 26 and below. So in 2025 the

conviction rate for the lower courts was 77.6% and as of June 30 this year it is

64.91% as compared to as previously mentioned 42% in 2025 and

65.52% in 2026 for the Sandigan Bayan. Thank you. Of this also how many have been

the subject of motu proprio investigation of the Ombudsman?

Your Honor, at present we don’t have the data to distinguish between motu

proprio and those that were filed with the office, but we can provide the

committee with the data.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would appreciate receiving that

information. Moving on po. What safeguards are in place to

ensure that your office is insulated from political influence especially

in cases involving high-ranking officials?

Well, Your Honor, we really just do our job

and we heed our mandate as provided for in the Constitution,

which is to prosecute and investigate cases without fear and without favor, Your Honor.

Maraming salamat po.

Um, nakita ko po sa inyong capital outlay, you requested for an increase,

but I also saw na meron kayong request for buildings and all that.

Doon po ba sa capital outlay na increase ninyo, does it cover forensic digital purchase or procurement of tools?

Alam naman po natin kung gaano kahalaga ito para mas maging efficient yung inyong investigation.

To my understanding, Your Honor, yes. Yes, it does.

This is one of the initiatives of this new administration

to improve our capacities.

At least with regard to digitalization.

Maraming salamat po.

Um, tungkol naman po sa regional reach ng Office of the Ombudsman,

ano po ang ano, how will your 2027 budget ensure that ma-expand natin po 'yung Ombudsman presence in the region

and it becomes accessible to the region?

Your Honor, actually, we are also looking at expanding

our investigations and our reach to BARMM,

to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

And also, we have also requested budgets for our different regional offices

in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, as well as our satellite offices.

This budget will ensure their accessibility to the public

and continuous presence.

Yeah.

Do we have measurable indicators?

Perhaps mga numero na puwedeng magpatunay kung ilan ang nafa-file doon,

and how—gaano po ka-efficient 'yung ating regional offices?

If you don't have the data right now,

we also appreciate, um, receiving the same from you,

katulad po ng kanina.

Ano po. Um, ah, siguro po 'yung huling question ko na lang po kay Ombudsman Remulla.

Kamakailan po, um, naipahayag po ninyo at ako'y, uh,

ang kinatawang ito ay nalungkot

sa inyong pahayag na tama po ba na sinabi ninyo na wala na tayo—

ang taong bayan ay wala nang maaasahan sa DPWH?

Ano po ba ang naging basehan ng statement po ninyo tungkol dito?

Ito po yung, salamat po sa tanong na yan,

at maaari pong linawin ang konteksto ng aking pagsasabi niyan.

Pinag-uusapan po namin ang acquisition ng building, uh,

ng NBI, kasi nga ako po yung dating Secretary of Justice

at kabisado ko po yung mga nagiging problema

sa pagpapagawa at pagtatalaga ng building ng gobyerno.

At ang isa pong naging problema na nakita kong matindi

ay yung Bureau of Immigration Building.

Inabot ho iyan halos ng walong bilyon at labindalawang taon,

at hanggang ngayon, ngayon lang yata na tapos,

yung driveway papunta po sa parking lot niya.

Yung driveway po niya, hindi ho kakasya.

Ang kakasya lang po, Wigo.

Yung maliit po na sasakyan,

pag may dala kayong pickup o SUV,

hindi na po kakasya at hindi na po makakaparada sa taas.

Ang problema po kasi,

pag may government building na ginagawa,

alam naman natin na hindi ho madali magpatayo ng building.

Ito yung building, maraming pong cost overrun yan.

Pero pag ito po tinamaan ng graft

at tinamaan ng kickback mentality,

talaga po mauubos pati yung building at mauubos po yung driveway.

Ganoon kasama ang nakita kong pangyayari sa akin pong karanasan.

Dito po sa gobyerno, matagal na po ako sa gobyerno.

Nagsimula po ako sa gobyerno 1992.

At hindi naman po tuloy-tuloy, pero kadalasan po yan.

Hanggang 2026, halos sa gobyerno po ako.

Nakita ko lahat ng pangyayari sa paggastos ng pera ng bayan, at ang pagpapagawa ng building, isa po sa pinakanakakamuhi pong nangyayari sa atin.

Nakakaawa po 'yung ating mga—lagay natin sa paaralan pa lamang, ang paaralan po ng mga bata na kaunting-kaunti na ang ginawa, halos ang sama ng standard.

Pero itong mga building po na talagang kinakailangan ng gobyerno, talagang pagka nagpatayo po tayo at may [unclear] po sa pagpapatayo ng building, talaga pong naging substandard po talaga ang building.

Ayun nga, example ho niyan, Immigration Building sa Macapagal Boulevard na dapat ho napakaganda kung titingnan natin ang naging gastos.

Halos walong bilyon ang aking pagkakaunawa. Pero kung titingnan ko ho at i-value ninyo ngayon,

sa ngayong merkado, kung magkano po 'yung building na 'yon, baka hindi ho umabot ng two billion.

Kaya ang laki po ng ano, ng sayang eh.

Yun po, probably, it’s a point of emphasis na kinakailangan pong bantayan natin ang kaban ng bayan pagdating po sa pagpapatayo ng mga gusali.

Thank you, Ombudsman. I share your observations and frustration.

So, given that po, ano po ang maaaring maitulong ng Ombudsman?

Given yung ganyang observation ninyo, upang linisin natin ang ahensyang ito ng katiwalian, without preempting whatever investigation you are currently doing right now, kung meron po,

Para po, maging dekalidad yung ating mga infrastruktura at maibalik natin ang kumpiyansa ng taong bayan sa ahensya.

Unang-una siguro, kung talagang DPWH ang pag-uusapan, dapat ho ginagamit natin ang RDC.

Lahat po ng proyekto, dapat po nakaplano.

Hindi ho puwedeng, “Bigyan mo ako ng listahan ng gagawin mong kalye, tapos ako nang bahala.”

Hindi po ganun eh.

Dapat ho yan nakaplano.

Ang laki po ng gobyerno natin, marami tayong gobyerno na gumagawa ng trabaho para planuhin na maayos ang lahat.

Pero hindi po dapat ganun ah.

Dapat po talaga deliberate tayo at every step of the way sa paggastos ng pera ng bayan.

Yun nga 'yung nagiging problema natin,

yung ating mga regional development plans, parang hindi ho nasunod nung bandang huli.

Itong mga nakaraang taon, lahat po naging flood-control budget na lang.

Ang nangyari po sa budget natin, yung mga sabihin natin, flagship project ng Pangulo, nawala, naging unprogrammed fund na lang.

Yung po ating foreign-assisted project, naging unprogrammed na lang.

Kaya ang aming pong gagawin dito,

sa aming opisina, magtatayo ho kami ng isang committee na babantayan lamang ang budget

at kung paano ho ginagastos ang pera ng bayan,

na pwede na rin ho maging sumbungan ng taong bayan kung meron pong pagmamalabis.

So, yung pagbabantay po ng budget, isa na ho sa direct functions namin, ang tingin ko na pinakamahalaga.

Maraming salamat po, Ombudsman.

I still have a little time.

Let me just siguro state that,

ang kinatawang ito po ay kaisa ninyo sa inyong hangarin upang palakasin muli ang tiwala ng taong bayan sa ahensya.

At alam po natin, nasabi nyo po sa inyong closing statement sa presentation, yung impact ng corruption.

And umaasa po kami na tunay na ang opisina ng Ombudsman ay ang magiging watchdog, mobilizer, official critic, and dispenser of justice.

At ako

po'y naniniwala din na sa huling phrase ng inyong presentation, that the Filipino people deserve no less.

Maraming salamat po, Mr. Chair.

Maraming salamat po.

Thank you, Representative Iris Montes.

Before we proceed to the next interpellator, may I now acknowledge the arrival of Representative Karl Fernandez Legazpi.

We have Representative Mark Anthony Santos.

We have Assistant Minority Leader Robert Nazal.

And Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio.

Tony.

And one more.

And we have Representative Franz Pumaren.

Welcome.

So we now go to the second interpellator.

He will belong to the independent.

We have minority, independent, majority.

Congressman.

And then, Toby Tiangco is now recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Uh, Mr. Chair, um, wala po akong tanong.

Um, I just want to manifest that I support the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Especially, Mr. Chair, the amendments that they are requesting for the general provisions, no?

And I'm sure, uh, you will be one with me.

We've known each other very well.

Um, because yung Office of the Ombudsman is part of the CFAG,

the, um, uh, Constitutional Fiscal Autonomy Group, no.

So I hope that the, um, amendments to the special provisions will also be applicable to the other members of the CFAG.

Hindi lang po doon sa Office of the Ombudsman.

Um, sana po we make it applicable to the Commission on Elections,

to the Civil Service Commission, to the Commission on Audit, and the Commission on Human Rights.

And this was my, um, ito po advocacy ko since 2013, eh.

I was already supporting their fiscal autonomy.

So I'm surprised that it's still an issue right now, no?

So yun lang po.

And I hope at the proper time, the Chairman will be the one to introduce the amendments in the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Representative Toby Tiangco.

Thank you for your full support for the budget of the Ombudsman.

And of course, also the special provisions.

The other commissions are also having that already.

The COMELEC and the others.

Civil Service and COA.

But the focus now is the Ombudsman.

We agree with you, and we support you in the special provisions for the Ombudsman.

So that is the stand of the Chair.

Uh, we have to get the approval of everyone here.

But, uh, thank you for your proposal.

Yes.

Yung doon sa savings, use of income, retirement benefits,

and sana isama na rin po natin yung validity of appropriations.

We will have that language recommended to the plenary.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Congressman Toby Tiangco.

Now we go to the majority.

And we have the representative from Baguio.

The Honorable Representative Mauricio Domogan.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Apo, Ombudsman, and the members of the family of the Ombudsman.

First, I join.

Of course, Congressman Tiangco and the others, fully supporting,

including the proposed amendments of the budget of the Ombudsman.

We have some few questions.

During the hearing on the Committee on Justice on the Impeachment,

Witness Ramil Madriaga came out with two names.

One of them happens to be with the Ombudsman.

Maybe we know what happened to that.

Ombudsman Remulla, please respond to the query of Congressman Domogan.

Yes, thank you, Your Honor.

The Internal Affairs Bureau of the Ombudsman is now on the case of Mr. Madriaga, of what was mentioned by Mr. Madriaga.

And that we already had the show-cause order issued to the person referred to by Mr. Madriaga.

And he has already answered.

So, the IAB is now pursuing, the Internal Affairs Bureau is pursuing the case to its proper logical conclusion.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Thank you, Representative Domogan.

Thank you, Chairman.

Next.

From your records, how many had been received by your office?

complaints

involving

Having conflict interest of incumbent officials of government,

particularly congressmen and senators?

Do you have records?

Your Honor, there aren't many complaints when it comes to conflict of interest.

It is something motu proprio that we start the investigations of the conflict of interest.

Probably, one reason is because I've been, I was a member of this house for four terms, and actually, I was elected to five terms, and I was very aware of the conflict of interest emanating at that time.

But, as a member of the house, we know the culture here is that, well, if I may be a little more informal in my words, walang basagan ng trip.

But, Your Honor, I have been given a constitutional duty to check on

conflicts

of

interest and

graft and corruption.

That's why I think that that knowledge came to me very handily.

And, that's where the motu proprio started.

But there are other, there are other people who give us information that do not necessarily file complaints.

But, we use this to start investigations, Your Honor.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Representative Domogan and our Ombudsman.

We go now to—back to—

Not yet finished.

I'm not yet finished.

Please proceed.

You still have 3 minutes and 32 seconds.

I thought you're finished.

I'm sorry.

No problem, Mr. Chairman.

Now, talking of these problems of corruption, which is appearing to be number one in our country today,

relative specifically to government projects,

I noticed that the requirement of pre-audit had been removed.

That was in 2011.

That was in 2011.

Because when pre-audit was being followed,

well, my seatmate here, who happens to be the regional director of the Cordillera,

when we rehabilitated the city of Baguio from the ruins of the killer earthquake of 1990,

wala namang red flag eh.

Kasi kailangan ninyong pre-audit.

Now, may we get your view.

Do you support us with the bill that we make as mandatory for payment of government projects,

pre-audit coupled with geomapping of the seed projects?

So that, klaro, na nandiyan.

Siguro, kung may lulusot pa na ghost project,

hindi ko na alam kung mayroon pa kung pre-audit complemented by geomapping.

It would be a big help, Your Honor.

However, that's already the province of the COA.

And I believe that probably COA should be able to address that issue.

And maybe they will best lead more personnel.

Because they're always, the limitation of COA, as far as I'm concerned,

as far as I've heard, is that they lack the people.

Maybe they need a bigger complement of people to do the job, Your Honor.

Thank you, Apo, Ombudsman.

We brought this with COA, and they fully support it, only they want additional personnel.

Tama po iyong sabi mo.

So, we hope that the bill that we did file,

should,

be passed.

Because I am confident that this can be a good weapon against this ghost project

happening in our country today.

Next.

The complaints that have been filed with your good office,

Apo, Ombudsman,

how long it will take?

Because usually, there's a period for the conduct of the preliminary investigation,

everything.

How long it will take to be processed?

Sir, the first stage that we undertake here is fact-finding.

And how many days of fact-finding? Thirty days? Sixty days?

Which is 30 days for non-complex cases,

and 60 days for more complex cases.

And then we have preliminary investigation,

which is another 60 days.

30 to 60 days, Your Honor.

60 days maximum.

So, right now, we already put in tighter deadlines to do our work.

And we just hired 60 more lawyers, Your Honor.

This year, we've hired 60 lawyers,

and we will be hiring 40 more for the year,

for a total of 100 lawyers,

to help us meet that kind of deadline,

because it can be very stringent on those

conducting the investigations, Your Honor.

Thank you, Apo, Ombudsman.

Well, I brought this up because I know of some cases

which are still pending there,

that had been filed

some time

ago.

Anyway,

we totally support,

as we said,

your budget, including the proposed amendment.

So,

and,

we commend

the tenacity of our present Ombudsman

to really

go after those

involved.

in anomalies within your jurisdiction.

Thank you, Apo Ombudsman and the family.

Thank you, Apo Chairman.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Thank you, Congressman Domogan.

Next in the list.

Before that, let me just recognize

Congressman Edgar Erice.

Thank you for coming.

Who else?

Bago lang.

Okay na.

So we will now go to

the next interpellator.

We have, yeah, from the majority-minority,

Representative Chel Diokno.

Thank you, Chair Rufus.

Magandang umaga po, Ombudsman Remulla

at sa lahat ng taga-Ombudsman.

At sa mga kasamahan din po natin.

I totally agree with your statement earlier

that the people deserve the best,

especially when it comes to anti-corruption.

And I know that the Office of the Ombudsman

is just one of several agencies

that is,

really, dapat nakatutok

pagdating sa isyong ito.

I'd like to share something

with the Ombudsman

that perhaps you're not aware of.

About 20 years ago,

I was provided with a copy of a study

that was submitted to your office

which showed that

out of 110 persons

convicted of graft and corruption offenses,

sasampu lang po

ang actually nakakulong.

These refer to convictions

already,

already by final judgment.

And one of the recommendations

of that study,

I can provide you with a copy.

I still have a copy, sir.

Is that the government

create a centralized system

for ensuring that those convicted,

especially those who appeal their convictions,

actually serve their sentences.

As I understand it,

as of now,

there is no such system in place.

What may I know your stand,

Ombudsman Remulla,

on this and what can we do

to move forward with this proposal

that has already been on the table

for more than 20 years?

Your Honor,

our legal system is one

which is not very clear

when it comes to people

who have been sentenced

by the Anti-Graft Court

or by any lower court.

Usually,

people are still allowed to post bail

after they've been sentenced.

But I think there are

this has to be

redefined in our times.

We have to make people face the music

that once convicted,

you serve your sentence immediately

and only the appeal can stop

the service of your sentence.

Let's say,

one is sentenced by original trial court

for homicide,

which is a bailable offense.

The presumption is the court

already did the right thing.

But because,

we allow them to post bail

after conviction

in the appellate process,

there is no time determined.

There's no time for this

to mature into

something that has to be served

by the person sentenced.

So, the appellate process

is very defective, Your Honor.

There is no time,

there's no timetable

for the appellate process.

You go to the Court of Appeals

and then the Supreme Court,

then we don't know what will happen.

So, are we going to allow

people to post bail

after they've been convicted

or are we going to let them

serve their sentence?

I think that's the critical thing

that there's an elephant in the room

that we have to ask

the Supreme Court about

because it's wasting

our government resources

if we do not actually implement

these decisions immediately.

So, the immediate implementation

of decisions, I think,

is one of the best ways

to make sure that people

will live,

will not do the offense again

because unless they serve sentence

and they are put behind bars

immediately,

people will forget

that they have been convicted

after a while.

So, it's something that we have to face

as a country.

Maybe we have to ask

the Supreme Court

the same question, Your Honor.

Tama po kayo, O Ombudsman.

And I believe...

Chel, I'd just like to

also remind the Ombudsman

that the presumption of innocence

is in the Constitution.

Even the Supreme Court

will not be able

to decree

that upon conviction

in the RTC,

you go to jail.

Our Constitution

mentions about final judgment.

So, we have the right to appeal

and the worst criminal

who has been convicted

has the, has the, has the, has the, uh, uh, has he, has she, has

the, the opportunity to always question

Because of the presumption

of innocence.

So, we ask our dear Ombudsman

to comment on that.

Because the proposal

for them to go directly to jail

precisely contradicts