Remulla to bring transparency to Office of the Ombudsman

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

Remulla, who is set to take his oath on Thursday, underscored the Ombudsman’s non-prosecutorial duties to ensure the government does its job. (Boying Remulla/facebook)

MANILA – Incoming Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Tuesday he wants the Office of the Ombudsman to be more open to the general public about its undertaking.

“(I want to bring in) transparency and a lot of action. Transparency, more openness from the office. I think the people want to know, gustong malaman ng taongbayan yung ginagawa ng Ombudsman kaya ipapaliwanag natin sa kanila yung ating ginagawa para malaman naman ng mga kababayan natin na may ganoong opisina ang gobyerno (People want to know what the Ombudsman is doing and we need to explain to them that there is an office doing it),” he said in a press briefing at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“Magkakaroon ng (We will establish a) media office. I think there will be more interviews and news coming from the Ombudsman’s office when we start there. I think it’s a necessity sapagkat yung tao naghahanap talaga ng transparency at accountability sa taumbayan (I think it is needed because people want transparency and accountability).”

Remulla, who is set to take his oath on Thursday, underscored the Ombudsman’s non-prosecutorial duties to ensure the government does its job.

“Hindi lang naman ito (It’s not only) prosecutorial, it’s also as a voice of the people, yung mga kinakailangan gawin ng gobyerno ay dapat sinusubaybayan din ng Ombudsman (the Ombudsman also monitors what the government needs to do),“ he said.

He added that the ongoing tie-up between the DOJ and Ombudsman will continue, especially in the filing of cases against public officials below Salary Grade 27 before the regional trial courts.

He said he will also adopt his innovations made in the DOJ National Prosecution Service (NPS) to evaluate cases filed before they are actually pursued to avoid instances of nuisance suits.

“Syempre dapat taasan yung standard, sabi ko nga dapat mawala yung weaponization ng office. Dapat dyan talaga hanapan ng ebidensya at yung ebidensya matibay (We must raise the standard, and as I said, we must stop weaponizing the office. We should look for evidence, and it should be airtight),” Remulla said.

“Ang gusto natin continuous trial para mabilis at iigsian natin ang taktika. Susubukan natin maibsan, mabawasan yung mga taktika na pagdedelay ng kaso (What we would want is a continuous trial so we can prevent dilatory tactics),” he said, noting that the tendency of the accused is to delay the case and then say they were denied the right to a speedy trial.

“Dapat dito talaga yung benchmarking ng lahat ay magawa para bilisan natin ang trial ng kaso, ayusin ang ebidensya para tuloy tuloy ang takbo (There should be a benchmarking of the processes to speed up the trial, to prepare the evidence well so the case runs smoothly).”

Meanwhile, Remulla assured that the pending case against Vice President Sara Duterte in connection with her confidential funds will undergo a thorough evaluation.

“Nandyan na yan eh. Actually, nandyan naman na sa OMB ang mga report na yan at bubuklatin natin, pag-aaralan at tatanungin natin yung mga may hawak ngayon at yung mga may tungkulin na hawakan yung mga kasong yun bago tayo tumuloy (The reports are with the Office of the Ombudsman and we will open it, study it, and consult those handling it before we make out next move),” he said.

In the meantime, Remulla said Justice Undersecretary Fredderick Vida will be the officer in charge of the DOJ.

Vida, who is the undersecretary-in-charge for the Financial, Administration and Personnel Cluster, was a former mayor of Mendez-Nuñez town in Cavite province.