Ombudsman budget, including P1M confidential funds, hurdles Senate

The proposed P5.34 billion budget of the Office of the Ombudsman for next year, including P1 million in confidential funds, hurdled the Senate plenary debates in less than five minutes.

No senators raised any questions about the Ombudsman's budget during the resumption of the Senate marathon plenary debates.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires had previously asked Congress to reduce his office's proposed P51 million confidential and intelligence funds to P1 million for the next two years, or until his term ends.

Martires confirmed that Congress agreed to reduce his office's confidential funds in the 2024 General Appropriations Bill.

"The final confidential fund as we requested is only P1 million," he told reporters in a chance interview.

Asked how his office would compensate for the deduction of P50 million confidential funds from their 2024 budget, Martires said he would seek the help of "Maritess," an internet slang to describe people who love to gossip.

"The old saying goes, learn to adjust if the blanket is short. Maybe we'll just use our charm," he said.

"Do it by smiling, you will probably get help from others. Take it to Maritess," he added.

Martires noted that he would also seek the help of members of the press for their information-gathering.

"I'll be honest with you. Sometimes I get information because of you. With that, all I have to do is to validate the information I learned from the members of the press," he said.

Martires said he would use the P1 million confidential funds for the investigation of cases and surveillance purposes.

"We will use the confidential funds for a lot of things, for the security of some of our offices," he pointed out.

In a letter dated 6 October, Martires said his request was "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 his office's proposed budget.