The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday asked a Senate panel reviewing the 2027 budget to augment the funding recommended by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the office by P1.84 billion, citing priority items requiring additional allocation, including the purchase of a new building at P1.46 billion. 

Ombudsman Boying Remulla attributed the need for a new office to a cramped workplace that impairs the working conditions of prosecutors, lawyers, and other staff, adding that it could no longer accommodate the growing workforce needed to speed up the resolution of pending cases, including those related to the flood control scam.

“We have space constraints also, Mr. Chairman. Our office is very small [and] cannot actually carry a very good setup for lawyers to work in,” Remulla told the Senate finance committee. 

The Ombudsman has maintained its central office at Defensor-Santiago Ave. (formerly Agham Road), in Diliman, Quezon City for 37 years to date. The five-storey building was built in 1989, a year after the Ombudsman was enacted into law. 

Although the proposed P7.2 billion budget for 2027 is 9.96 percent higher than the P6.58 billion the Ombudsman received this year, the allocation is drastically lower, at almost half of the P12.79 billion the Ombudsman initially requested from the DBM.

The deficit would effectively cut funding for the Ombudsman’s key programs, including the anti-corruption investigation program designed to combat corruption in government. The program incurred a P300 million budget cut. 

Another priority initiative that needs funding is the creation of the Ombudsman Marshal Service, which will include 100 new positions tasked with serving cyber warrants, securing evidence, enforcing orders, and protecting investigators.

“We want to establish safe quarters for witnesses and sometimes our marshals themselves,” Remulla remarked.

Of the proposed P1.84 billion increase, the lion’s share (P1.46 billion) will go to purchase a new Ombudsman headquarters in Pasay, near the Senate. The amount represents the first tranche of the P7.3 billion, which will be paid via a five-year installment acquisition. 

The building will be purchased as-is, as constructing a new one would entail significantly higher costs, according to Remulla.

Meanwhile, out of the P1.84 billion proposed hike, P163.7 million will be earmarked for personal services, P3.8 million for maintenance and other operating expenses, and P54.3 million for motor vehicles for officials and general dispatch. 

If approved by Congress, the proposed increase would also restore the Ombudsman's initial request for confidential funds for investigative operations. The office originally requested P148.53 million in secret funds, but the DBM approved only P57.47 million. 

Senate President Win Gatchalian said the proposed budget is “minuscule” compared to the gravity of corruption cases that the Ombudsman is tasked to resolve, particularly related to flood control. 

Panel chair JV Ejercito and Senate President Pro Tempore Tito Sotto also backed the Ombudsman’s request to augment its confidential funds, though the former noted that the Senate may not be able to fully restore the budget but may only “add a little.”

At present, there are 31 pending flood control-related cases before the Sandiganbayan and four before the RTCs, while 166 cases are undergoing preliminary investigation. The Ombudsman is also conducting 107 lifestyle checks, according to Remulla.

“I think we can do a great deal here because when we are more effective in conducting lifestyle checks, we can go for more forfeiture cases, Your Honor,” the Ombudsman told the committee. “Once people get used to the fact that the government can forfeit properties that have been unlawfully acquired, I think it will resonate within the community.” 

Recently, the Ombudsman hired 60 new lawyers as part of the office’s effort to speed up the resolution and filing of cases ahead of an expected surge in flood control-related cases. Another batch of 40 lawyers will be hired in November. 

The Ombudsman stated that the office needs more investigators who will work full-time alongside the lawyers to address the backlog and expedite the case buildup.

As of 30 June, pending cases at the Ombudsman stand at 4,219, of which 1,955 are criminal cases. Administrative cases accounted for the largest share at 2,258, while forfeiture cases totaled six

Assistant Ombudsman Luis Bonoan Jr. said the backlog has been addressed by streamlining the rules of procedure, which now limit fact-finding investigations from the previous one year to just 60 days for simple cases and 90 days for complex cases.