The House committee on justice approved this week the consolidation of two measures seeking to strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) by expanding its powers and giving it more funds for its anti-corruption drive.
In a hearing presided by committee vice chairman Rep. Doy Leachon (1st District, Oriental Mindoro), the panel approved the consolidation of House Bills 6383 and 5134 authored by Reps. Ann Hofer (2nd District, Zamboanga Sibugay) and Sherwin Tugna (Party list, Cibac), respectively.
Rep. Henry Oaminal (2nd District, Misamis Occidental) moved to consolidate the two bills. “There is no longer a need to refer this to a technical working group (TWG) or to a subcommittee to be in-charge for this particular purpose because of the bills’ urgency,” said Oaminal.
Leachon noted that the House leadership has been consistent in batting for the passage of such important bills.
Hofer said the benefits and allowances of the employees and officials of the OMB are still not comparable to those of their counterparts in other government agencies and in other anti-graft and corruption bodies in the Asia Pacific Region.
The OMB also suffers from a high turnover of personnel, who eventually join other government agencies or the private sector that offer better compensation and retirement benefits, said Hofer.
Tugna said since the 15th Congress, the CIBAC party-list group whose advocacy is anti-corruption, has been filing bills that aim to strengthen the OMB.
Based on their research, Tugna said the work force of the OMB has been receiving salaries and benefits that are not commensurate to their heavy task of gathering evidence and establishing air-tight cases against erring public officials.
They are also not spared from challenges brought about by numerous harassment suits filed against them by disgruntled litigants, according to Tugna.
Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerald Mosquera said the OMB has long advocated the enactment into law of such bills seeking to strengthen the OMB. He said the passage of such law will definitely strengthen the OMB to a very substantial extent. He expressed full support for the passage of the bill.
Mosquera said the OMB has become the training ground for other institutions in the government. “Many of our lawyers go to us for training and then leave us after five years to join the judiciary and other prosecution service,” said Mosquera.
He said even the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has successfully advocated for its own retirement law. “It is only the Office of the Ombudsman that does not have its own retirement benefit system,” said Mosquera.
HB 6383 is titled “An Act Strengthen The Office Of The Ombudsman By Establishing A Retirement Benefit system, Augmenting Employee Benefits” or the “Retirement Law of the Office of the Ombudsman.”
Meanwhile, HB 5134 is titled “An Act To Strengthen The Office Of The Ombudsman, Upgrading Employee Skills And Augment Compensation And Benefits, Enhance Fiscal Autonomy, Appropriating funds Therefor, amending for this Purpose Republic Act No. 6770, Otherwise Known As The Ombudsman Act of 1989.”
The bills provide that all Ombudsman officials and employees performing legal and/or technical functions from Salary Grade 26 to 29, not otherwise covered under existing benefits and retirement laws, shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefits as those of judges of the Regional Trial Courts (RTC), Municipal and City Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Court with the same salary grade.
The bills provide for the automatic increase in the pension benefits of OMB retired officials or employees whenever there is an increase in the salary and allowance in the same position from which they retired.
The bills also provide that OMB officials and employees performing prosecution, investigation and other technical functions shall be entitled to receive additional monthly hazard allowances not exceeding 50 percent of their basic monthly salary.
The measures provide for an initial amount of P200 million to fund implementation of the Act, from the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Thereafter, such amount shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Act. (HOR-PR)
