Ombudsman asks Congress to reduce P51-M worth of secret funds to P1-M

The Office of the Ombudsman has formally asked Congress to reduce its P51 million worth of proposed confidential and intelligence funds to P1 million for the next two years.

In a letter dated 6 October but only released to the media on Wednesday, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said his request is "consistent" with his earlier pronouncement during Congress' deliberation on his office's proposed budget for 2024.

"Consistent with my earlier pronouncement before your Committee, I would like to officially request that notwithstanding its investigative functions, that the Office of the Ombudsman be appropriated the amount of ONE MILLION PESOS (P 1,000,000.00) for its Confidential and Intelligence Fund in FYs 2024 and 2025 or until the end of my term of office as Ombudsman," Martires said in the letter addressed to Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.

A similar letter was also sent to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Zaldy Co.

To recall, the former Supreme Court and Sandiganbayan Justice previously expressed his willingness to forego the proposed CIFs of his office during the deliberation of the Senate's Finance panel for its P13.360 billion proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

"If it will only taint the reputation of the Ombudsman and its office, I am willing that this be scratched. I think we can survive without confidential funds," he said.

Martires made the same pronouncements during the House of Representatives' budget deliberation for the Ombudsman's proposed budget.

The development came after the House of Representatives on Tuesday announced the removal of P1.23 billion worth of secret funds originally allocated to five agencies, including the Office of the Vice President, and the Department of Education, both headed by Vice President Sara Duterte.

The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the Department of Foreign Affairs were among those whose proposed CIFs were also rejected.