The Office of the Ombudsman commemorated its 30th anniversary with a weeklong celebration from May 7 to 11 with the theme: “Inspiring Greater Accountability, Building a Nation of Integrity.” The highlights of the anniversary celebration include the unveiling of the 30th anniversary commemorative marker with a time-capsule artwork by Filipino multimedia artist Toym Imao, unveiling of the Lego mini scale models of the Ombudsman Main and Annex Buildings in partnership with the Philippine Lego Users Group, an awarding ceremony for the winners of the 2017 to 2018 Integrity Caravan “Corrupt-Free Philippines” video-making contest in partnership with Jollibee Foods Corporation, a joint forum on “Why Our Work Matters: Revisiting Institutional Efforts on Justice and Integrity” sponsored by the International Development Law Organization, an institutional musical advocacy play titled “Ombudsman The Musical,” a paper craft creative workshop facilitated by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the 1st institution-wide Unity Games, and livelihood seminars/bazaar.  Ombudsman officials and employees who have rendered 30 years of service in the Office of the Ombudsman were also feted during the culminating anniversary program. Incidentally, the anniversary celebration was the last under the tenure of ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, the fifth Ombudsman of the Republic of the Philippines, whose seven-year term will end in July. Ombudsman as Protector of the People The 1987 Constitution ordains that the State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption (Art. II, Sec. 27). It also declares the avowed State policy that public office is a public trust and that public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives (Art. XI, Sec. 1). The Office of the Ombudsman was established as an independent constitutional office with full powers and authority to ensure that the actions of all public officials and employees conform to the standards of the Constitution and the statutes including the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officers and Employees (R.A. No. 6713) designed to promote a high standard of ethics in public service. The Office of the Ombudsman has assumed various roles as “protector of the people,” “watchdog of the bureaucracy,” “mobilizer of public services,” “dispenser of justice,” and “official critique of the government” in upholding integrity, promoting transparency and exacting accountability in public service. Unlike in other countries, the Office of the Ombudsman goes beyond the traditional model of an ombudsman. While the classical model is generally limited to receiving graft and corruption complaints and addressing them through referral or non-coercive measures, the Office of the Ombudsman has broader powers to investigate and prosecute corruption cases. This combination of the classical model primarily discharging preventive and education functions and the law enforcement model dealing with investigative and prosecutorial functions has come to be known as the multi-disciplinary model, which is common among Asian nations. The Congress enacted Republic Act No. 6770 (The Ombudsman Act of 1989) to operationalize the Office of the Ombudsman as the lead anti-corruption agency of the government. The law envisioned the Ombudsman to evolve into an effective and activist watchman from being a “toothless tiger.” To fulfil its mandate as the foremost anti-corruption institution, the Office operates on a three-pronged approach, namely: (a) prosecution, (b) prevention, and (c) promotion.

1. a) Prosecution efforts include the aggressive investigation and prosecution of erring public officials, disciplinary action against abusive officials, conduct of lifestyle checks, and forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth.
2. b) Prevention initiatives include assessment of internal systems and procedures against corruption vulnerabilities, pursuing legislative reform on anticorruption laws, building and strengthening partnerships with all stakeholders, and introduction of institutional reforms.
3. c) Promotion measures are various educational programs and information campaigns that foster integrity, accountability, and transparency in public service.

The Office is accorded with constitutional guarantees and expanded powers to effectively discharge its mandate without undue political interference. The Office considers these guarantees not only as a mighty shield against external influences, but also an indispensable factor to earn public trust and sustain the great strides in combating corruption. In the discharge of its functions, the Office of the Ombudsman exercises jurisdiction over officials and employees of the government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or government-controlled corporations, as well as private individuals who have acted in conspiracy with public officials. It has disciplinary authority over all elective and appointive officials of the government except over officials who may be removed only by impeachment or over members of Congress and the Judiciary. Nonetheless, the Ombudsman has the power to investigate any serious misconduct in office committed by officials removable by impeachment for the purpose of filing a verified complaint for impeachment if warranted. Structural Organization The Office of the Ombudsman is led by the Ombudsman also known as Tanod bayan. The Ombudsman is supported by an Overall Deputy Ombudsman, a Special Prosecutor, and Deputy Ombudsmen for its area offices in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and its sectoral office for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (MOLEO). The Ombudsman, Overall Deputy Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsmen for Luzon and MOLEO, and the Special Prosecutor hold office in Quezon City. The Deputy Ombudsmen for Visayas and Mindanao are stationed in the cities of Cebu and Davao, respectively. There are also regional offices in the cities of Iloilo, Tacloban, and Cagayan de Oro, as well as a training center in Rosales, Pangasinan. The Office of the Overall Deputy Ombudsman oversees and administers the operations of the different offices and performs other functions and duties assigned by the Ombudsman such as the disposition of cases involving low-ranking officials in the National Capital Region. The Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao performs various functions and duties of the Ombudsman within their respective geographical jurisdictions. The Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for MOLEO has jurisdiction over officials and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), and other law enforcement agencies of the government. The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) acts as the prosecutorial arm of the Office of the Ombudsman, which prosecutes criminal cases within the jurisdiction of the special anti-graft court known as the Sandiganbayan. Under the supervision and control of the Ombudsman, the OSP also litigates civil cases for forfeiture of unexplained wealth before the Sandiganbayan. The restructuring of a number of Ombudsman offices has already been approved.  The various major directorates and allied services under the Ombudsman central office with counterpart bureaus or units in the area/sectoral offices are the following:

1. Field Investigation Office (FIO)
2. Preliminary Investigation, Administrative Adjudication, and Monitoring Office (PAMO)
3. Prosecution, Information, Evaluation, and Monitoring Service (PIEMS)
4. Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO)
5. Office of Legal Affairs (OLA)
6. Finance and Management Information Office (FMIO)
7. General Administration Office (GAO)

The Seven-Year Roadmap Under the stewardship of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, the Office adopted a seven-year roadmap that reformulated its policy thrust and developed an eight-point agenda to establish an effective anti-corruption framework and guide its functional operations. Various innovations and reform measures were introduced to attain institutional goals and ultimately help end the scourge of corruption and the culture of impunity. The Office of the Ombudsman also ensured that its plans and programs are guided by both national and international development frameworks on good governance and anti-corruption, such as the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The Philippines is one of the 184 States-Parties to the UNCAC, whose treaty provides for periodic reviews of States’ national anti-corruption initiatives gauged against international standards. Moreover, beyond its top-billed function to mine volumes of corruption cases for investigation, resolution, and prosecution, the Office proactively collaborates with international communities, development partners, and multiple stakeholders whose valuable expertise, resources, and support have been instrumental in amplifying the work of the Ombudsman. Key reform programs initiated by the Office under the stewardship of Ombudsman Morales are geared toward strengthening institutional integrity, public transparency, and operational efficiency with specific focus on the following areas:  establishing baseline data, capacity assessment and capacity building, institutional strengthening and development of strategic roadmap, records management, case monitoring, information technology, communications strategy and institutional advocacy, and knowledge sharing and exchange. Flagship projects include the development and implementation of the Integrity Management Program (IMP), which facilitates a systematic assessment of corruption vulnerabilities of key national agencies. The Blue Certification Program for multi-level certification of local government units (LGUs) aims to monitor and review the compliance with anti-red tape regulations akin to the ISO-certification for management system standards, the program has already been pilot-tested. The Environmental Ombudsman Program and the Investment Ombudsman Program were also revitalized to address environmental concerns and investment grievances, respectively, under the concept of a quick response team. The Integrity, Transparency, and Accountability Program (ITAP) was further strengthened to answer the need for customized training modules for both public and private sectors. The Integrity Caravan was rolled out to further engage all sectors of society on the various Ombudsman programs and projects to build a broad-based strategic partnership. Efforts were undertaken to develop and improve various operating systems and manuals such as the Ombudsman Stylebook to serve as ready reference on legal draftsmanship and a practical tool set for investigation and prosecution. Investments were made to maximize the use of technology toward the development and enhancement of I.T. tools such as the Case and Complaints Management System (CCMS) and the electronic Statement of Asset, Liabilities,  and Net Worth (eSALN). Understanding the need to constantly enhance the capacity of its most important asset (human resource), the Office, through its development partners, facilitated the conduct of numerous trainings on trial advocacy, legal writing, asset recovery and asset management, environmental and financial crimes, public procurement, and fraud investigation. Linkages with development partners as well as the private sector were carefully fostered toward one collective agenda of promoting integrity and fighting corruption through a multi-sectoral approach.  These development and institutional partners include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the British Embassy Manila, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Department of Justice – Office of the Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (US DOJ-OPDAT), the World Bank (WB), and the Jollibee Foods Corporation. These initiatives have contributed in making the Office more impervious to institutional risks and enabled it to be more aggressive in pursuing its constitutional and statutory mandate with much success.  One of its notable results is the increase in the conviction rate at the Sandiganbayan from 41 percent in 2011 to a high of 75 percent and 68.5 percent, respectively in 2015 and 2016. The Office has also been able to significantly lower its caseload from an inherited docket of more than 19,000 cases in 2011 (plus an annual intake of around 5,000 new cases) to a manageable and updated level by the end of 2017 by reducing the carry-over docket by more than half, as it moves toward achieving a zero-backlog docket before the end of the term of Ombudsman Morales. The Office also takes pride in the numerous accolades bestowed upon Ombudsman Morales, foremost of which is the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016. These recognitions are testament to the institution’s collective and inclusive anticorruption efforts, which are also reflected in the country’s improved ranking in various transparency, accountability, and development indices such as the World Bank Governance Indicators (WBGI), Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Social Weather Station (SWS) Sincerity Ratings in Fighting Corruption, and Makati Business Club (MBC) Executive Outlook Survey. The country’s sustained positive and stable economic outlook was likewise affirmed by top global credit agencies (Fitch, S&P, and Moody’s). Toward Resiliency and Prosperity The world has become smaller due to increased connectivity and accessibility brought about by unprecedented technological advances in communication and transportation, which allow businesses to operate on a global scale more efficiently and effectively. A country can only be a few hours away on a plane, or a few time zones away via email or Skype, which translates to new opportunities to make new friends, start a new career, close a business transaction, and explore new places. While this development provides the country with more opportunities for economic growth and development, it also equally provides opportunities for transnational forms of corruption. The collective effort of the Office of the Ombudsman and its stakeholders will be further tested as it deals with highly evolved and complex forms of corruption, which, if not checked immediately, may corrode the gains the country has achieved in “inspiring greater accountability and building a nation of integrity.”