MIRIAM WANTS SENATE REPORTS IN OMBUDSMAN RESOLVED

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago decried the slow disposition of cases filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, and lamented that it has failed to resolve the various Senate committee reports submitted to them.

These Senate committee reports include the Senate investigations on the Euro Generals, the fertilizer fund scam, the road users tax scam, and the NBN-ZTE scandal.

"The Senate investigations on corruption scandals will be futile if the Ombudsman will not act on these committee reports. The public is waiting with bated breath for the culprits to be punished," Santiago said.

Santiago reiterated that the Senate itself cannot punish corrupt officials nor send them to jail.

"It is the duty of the Office of the Ombudsman to act promptly on complaints filed in any form or manner against officers or employees of the government, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations. The delay in the disposition of cases submitted by the Senate to the Ombudsman is a gross injustice to the Filipino people," Santiago said.

Santiago, a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner for her fight against corruption in government, proposed that the Ombudsman should follow the shorter time frames provided under the Rules of Court instead of what the Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended.

"Compared to the DOJ Memorandum No. 12, which provides sixty days for preliminary investigations, the Rules of Court provide for a shorter time frame. Under Rule 112 of the Rules of Court, the hearing shall be held within ten days and terminated within five days," the senator said.

Santiago also said she will file a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the Ombudsman should strictly comply with the periods provided under the Rules of Court in the investigation of cases referred to it by Congress.

She also recommended amending the Ombudsman Act in order to reflect the periods provided in the Rules of Court to serve as a clear guide in the disposition of cases before the Office of the Ombudsman.