Chiz: Give 30% of seized assets to Ombudsman

By Macon Araneta-Ramos

SEN. Chiz Escudero has filed a bill to enable the Office of the Ombudsman to retain at least 30% of the value of ill-gotten assets acquired from the forfeiture cases won by the government against corrupt public officials.

He said the move will augment the financial resources of the country’s graft busters.

Under Senate Bill 292, Escudero said proposal hopes to give more funds to the Office of the Ombudsman to help its employees effectively perform their function and mandate.

At the same time, he underscored the importance of the role they play in weeding out corruption in public office.

“Funding is a major limitation to the Office of the Ombudsman when fulfilling its mandate of combating corruption,” he said.

The budget of the Office of the Ombudsman, he stressed pales in comparison with those allocated to its international counterparts. Consequently, he related that corruption goes unhampered eventually leading to massive losses in government revenues, further draining government coffers.

“This bill intends to augment the financial resources of the Ombudsman by giving it a share in any property forfeited in favor of the State under Republic Act No. 1379 or the Forfeiture Law; and thus increase its funding. This bill provides a mechanism wherein 30% of the value of forfeited assets shall be used as funding for the Ombudsman which will assist the continued progress of cases,” he added.

Pimentel also said he was surprised with the apparent “VIP treatment” the bill has been getting from the senators.

“I was surprised. Is this that important? Is this that earthshaking? This can be done on a regular phasing,” he said.

Escudero said institutionalizing the fixed percentage by amending RA 1379 will ensure additional funding to the Ombudsman and eliminate the need to reallocate funding from an “already stretched national budget.”