Ombudsman Samuel Martires (Screenshot from YouTube live)

For Ombudsman Samuel Martires, the benefit of having confidential funds just isn't worth the accompanying drama. 

Because of this, Martires asked on Tuesday night, Aug. 27 the House Committee on Appropriations to remove the P51.4-million confidential fund allocation of the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP). 

“I will appreciate really if Congress will remove the confidential fund from our budget,” Martires said during the OMB’s budget briefing, in reply to ACT Teachers Party-list Rep.France Castro, who asked for an update on the OMB’s P31 million and P51 million confidential fund allocations for fiscal years 2023 and 2024, respectively. 

“I’d rather not have a confidential fund until the end of my term of office, than to have a confidential fund where people will be raising their eyebrows. Kumakain ako sa restaurant, [tapos] sasabihin ng tao na iyong tubig…na iniinom ko ay galing sa confidential fund,” he explained.  

(I'm eating at a restaurant, and a person will come over and say that the water I'm drinking came from confidential funds.) 

Confidential funds are so-called because they are not subject to standard auditing procedures. Along with intelligence funds, they are considered special lump sum funds in the national budget. 

The Ombudsman nonetheless asked the committee to consider providing additional funding to put up more OMB satellite offices, hire more lawyers and support its digitalization program, which the panel approved. 

“There is a need to hire 60 more lawyers from the present lawyers the OMB have,” Martires said, citing that there are more non lawyers than lawyers in OMB units involved in investigation.  

READ AGAIN: 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/26/house-to-reallocate-confidential-intelligence-funds-to-counter-escalating-threats-in-wps 

Castro took note that the OMB’s 1,300 cases for fact-finding in the first six months of 2024 was lower by 32 percent compared to the 2,038 during the same period last year. 

Out of the total, the OMB completed the investigation of 389 complaints for the first semester, which is 21 percent higher than the target at the start of the year. 

“To speed up the investigation of complaints, we are trying to merge now the fact-finding office and the preliminary investigation office. So when the complaint is filed, it will be immediately assigned to a lawyer who will conduct a case evaluation, and the lawyer will determine whether to proceed with the preliminary investigation or to recommend for the dismissal of the case or to recommend for a case build up,” Martires said.  

He also volunteered courts dismiss many criminal cases on the ground of inordinate delay.  

Baguio lone district Rep. Mark Go said he was willing to file a bill addressing the issue.

The total proposed budget of OMB next year is P5.824 billion.