The Office of the Ombudsman has toughly accepted the challenge to take the lead and reject its multi-million worth of confidential funds for 2024.

In a sit-down interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said that their prior P51.468 million in confidential funds for 2024 is now officially reduced to merely P1 million.

"I made an official request with the Senate and the House of Representatives to reduce the [over] P51 million to P1 million," Martires said.

According to Martires, he sent a letter last Friday to Rep. Elizaldy Co and Senator Sonny Angara, who both chair the appropriations panel in the House and Senate, respectively, for the official reduction of their secret funds.

"I wanted P1,000, but they didn't agree," he said.

While the Ombudsman did not fully accept the challenge to let go of their confidential funds for the upcoming year, he said that the reduction of over P50 billion was a direct response to Senator Koko Pimentel's call to his office to take the lead of deletion of such controversial funds so that other agencies will follow.

To recall, Pimentel challenged Martires to relinquish P51.468 in confidential funds under its P5.050 billion budget for 2024 as a follow the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Migrant Workers' rejection of the grant of millions of secret funds.

Martires seriously took the challenge, claiming his office can do without confidential funds in the investigation and prosecution of cases, and he is amenable to let go of it if it will only taint the reputation of the Ombudsman and its officers.

The Ombudsman initially proposed a P6.7 billion budget for 2024, but the Department of Budget and Management recommended a P1.67 billion cut and only allocated P5.05 billion under the 2024 National Expenditure Program.

The Ombudsman's P5.05 billion 2024 allocation, includes the P51.468 in confidential funds.