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Senator Francis ‘’Chiz’’ Escudero has filed a bill that would enable the Office of the Ombudsman to retain at least 30 percent of the value of the ill-gotten assets acquired from the forfeiture cases that the government won in courts against corrupt public officials. Escudero said his measure is meant to augment the financial resources of the country’s anti-graft body. Under Senate Bill (SB) No.292, the lawmaker from Sorsogon said the proposal would give more funds to the Office of the Ombudsman to help its employees effectively perform their function and mandate, as he underscored the importance of the role they play in weeding out corruption in public office. “Funding is a major limitation to the Office of the Ombudsman when fulfilling its mandate of combating corruption. The budget of the Office of the Ombudsman pales in comparison with those allocated to its international counterparts. Consequently, corruption goes unhampered eventually leading to massive losses in government revenues, further draining our coffers,” the Bicol senator said. “This bill intends to augment the financial resources of the Ombudsman by giving it a share in any property forfeited in favor of the State under Republic Act (RA) No. 1379, or the Forfeiture Law, and thus increase its funding. The bill provides a mechanism wherein 30 percent of the value of forfeited assets shall be used as funding for the Ombudsman which will assist the continued progress of cases he added. Escudero said institutionalizing the fixed percentage by amending RA No.1379 would ensure additional funding to the Ombudsman and eliminate the need to reallocate funding from an “already stretched national budget". “I have filed SB No.292 to recognize the importance of helping the Ombudsman in fulfilling its mandate of combating corruption by giving them a share of the government properties acquired from the Forfeiture law,” Escudero stressed. The Escudero bill seeks to amend Section 6 of RA No.1379 by specifying that “thirty percent of the value of such property forfeited in a final and executory order of the court shall be earmarked as additional funding in favor of the Office of the Ombudsman". The bill further proposed that if the property is not in cash, it shall be sold at public auction and the proceeds, after deducting the 30 percent for the Ombudsman, shall accrue to the General Fund. The bill is currently pending before the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.