DOJ, COA to become Ombudsman deputies in corruption-prone offices

FILE: Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra during a press briefing in Malacañang TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Audit (COA) would augment the Office of the Ombudsman’s (OMB) shortage of manpower with deputized resident ombudsmen in corruption-prone government offices, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Friday.

“We shall refine this proposal further. The idea actually came from Ombudsman (Samuel) Martires himself. He explained that his office did not have enough manpower to revive the resident ombudsmen of the past. On their part, both the DOJ and the COA expressed willingness to accept the deputization by the OMB, subject to further discussion of the terms of the arrangement,” Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

He added that Task Force Against Corruption (TFAC) “also noted that several agencies had created or strengthened their internal anti-corruption mechanisms”.

Guevarra said the TFAC, in its meeting on Wednesday, approved the guidelines and parameters proposed by the DOJ-created operations center for the evaluation and investigation of corruption complaints, including guidelines on how to deal with complaints affecting other branches of government, as well as local government units.

During the meeting, the task force secretariat also presented to the TFAC the more significant complaints so far received from various sources.

“With the approval of the guidelines/parameters, the TFAC operations center is expected to process complaints and reports on corruption more efficiently,” Guevarra said.