Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires stood pat on his suggestion that the Commission on Audit (COA) should not publish its annual audit reports (AARs) for fear that the public may make incorrect assumptions on possible acts of corruption.

During the hearing before the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, Martires said that the Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) should not be published because it only "causes confusion."

But in a statement released on Wednesday, Martires said he made a mistake mentioning the AOM and clarified that he was actually referring to the AAR, which the COA prepares every end of the year and tackles the accounts and operations of every government agency and local government unit.

The AOM, on the other hand, is the written notification of the COA to heads of  government agencies of any deficiencies in the audit of accounts or submission of documents.

Martires' suggestion did not sit well with the public, and many netizens blasted him for defending the corrupt. But he begged to differ.

"Wala akong pinapaboran na opisyal. Kung sino ang tiwaling opisyal tanggalin natin... but let us have proof dahil lahat ng opisyal ng gobyerno tao yan, may dignidad yan, they must be respected, (I am not favoring any official. Whoever is corrupt, let's get rid of them... but let us have proof because all government officials are human beings, they have dignity...)," he said.

Martires added that it's easy to file a case against government officials. However, they are still taking into consideration the integrity of government officials and employees. 

He pointed out that they have to protect their integrity "kasi pag kinasuhan ka, hindi lang ikaw ang apektado pati pamilya mo eh (if a case is filed against you, you're not the only one affected, but also your family)."

In the case of AARs being released to the public, Martires said that officials deserve to complete their projects first and cited a building construction as an example. "Paano mo sasabihin na hindi sinunod ang specifications or nag divert sa plano if hindi pa tapos ang building diba? Tapusin muna chaka ka mag audit, (How can you say that the specifications were not followed or that the plan was diverted if the building is not yet finished, right? Finish it before you do the audit)," he said.

The Ombudsman maintained that they are only trying to avoid trial by publicity. In their case, the officials of the Ombudsman "do not say a word" when a case is filed and only release the decision to the media when it is finished.

To recall, it was Martires who also limited the media and the public's access to the statement of assets liabilities and net worth (SALN) of public officials back in 2020.

Before, the media can write letters of request to the Ombudsman and get copies of the SALN of public officials such as the President, Vice President, senators, and congressmen. Now, the public official who submitted his or her SALN has to give his or her permission first before the media, or anybody else, can access it before the Ombudsman.

"No SALN will be furnished to the requester unless he/she presents a notarized letter of authority from the declarant allowing the release of the requested SALN," read the Ombudsman's Memorandum Circular No. 1.

"If the person requesting is not the declarant or the declarant's duly authorized representative, but has [a] notarized letter of authority from the declarant allowing [the] release of the requested SALN, he/she shall be required to present two original valid ID's, one of which is a government issued ID bearing the requester's picture and signature," it added.

Martires explained that SALNs are being "weaponized" by enemies of government officials, and he said this is not a good indicator of ill-gotten wealth. He added that SALNs are not even required in a corruption investigation.