By Tracy Cabrera
Apparently frustrated with delays or the slow progress in the processes of fulfilling its mandate, the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has proposed to the Senate the formation of an in-house enforcement service to lessen its dependence on other law enforcement agencies.
During the hearing on Senate Bill 2394, the OMB representation affirmed its recommendation to establish its own law enforcement unit, for which an earlier measure was filed in the chamber and an allotment already approved.
According to assistant ombudsmen Eliseo Cruz and Luis Gonzaga Bonoan Jr., a law enforcement function for their office would lessen its dependence on other agencies tasked with that particular mandate.
With the formation of such a unit, 100 new positions would be required across its offices nationwide, Bonoan told the Senate committee on justice and human rights, which is deliberating on SB 2394 as proposed by former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now incumbent senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson.
For his part, Cruz cited that “the Office of the Ombudsman (. . .) could have caught more corrupt government personnel if it is given the power to make lawful arrests and execute entrapment operations.”
“At present, the office is mainly dependent on law enforcement agencies such as the PNP (Philippine National Police), NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) in order to carry out its mandate,” he noted.
Moreover, the assistant ombudsman
even asserted that coordinating with the law enforcement agencies has become ‘tedious’ and in some instances, the long coordination process has also led to some failures.
“Apart from counting on law enforcement bodies for entrapment operations, we also rely heavily on them for the protection and security of our informants’ and our own investigators,” Cruz stressed.
