2 days ago
Ombudsman's proposed budget for 2026 pegged at P6.39B
The Office of the Ombudsman will get P6.39 billion in 2026 under the National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacanang to Congress.
The proposed budget is higher than the P5.87 billion budget of the anti-graft court this year.
Of the P6.39 billion, P3.67 billion will go to Personnel Services; P2.20 billion will go to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE); and P515.3 million will account for the Capital Outlay.
The Ombudsman's proposed budget for 2026 also includes P51.47 million worth of confidential funds, the same amount of confidential funds it got this year.
Other items under the Ombudsman's proposed budget include:
-P816.9 million for the conduct of fact-finding investigation and lifestyle check for case build-up against erring public officials
-P445.8 million for prosecution of criminal and forfeiture cases filed against erring public officials with the Sandiganbayan and Regional Trial Courts
-P164.8 million for adjudication on administrative cases against erring public officials to enforce anti-corruption laws
-P149.2 million for delivery of responsive and meaningful public assistance to address red tape in the bureaucracy
-P106 million for Operation and Maintenance of Computerized Management Information System
-P99 million for Aral and Asal Project under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the University of the Philippines System (UPS)
-P58.5 million for the conduct of integrity assessments and corruption diagnostics to reduce the vulnerability of government agencies to corruption, inefficiency, and red tape
-P53.3 million for Preliminary investigation of criminal and forfeiture cases against erring public officials
-P44.3 million for the development and implementation of integrity promotion programs to generate a critical mass of anti-corruption advocacy
-P20.3 million for advocacy of Ombudsman cases appealed to the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, including the filing of special civil actions with the Supreme Court, among others
The Whistleblowers Reward, however, is just pegged at P10 million.
Under the Ombudsman law, the Ombudsman and its Deputies, shall serve as protectors of the people, 'should act promptly on complaints filed in any form or manner against officers or employees of the government, or of any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, and enforce their administrative, civil and criminal liability in every case where the evidence warrants in order to promote efficient service by the government to the people.'
The Ombudsman was headed by former Supreme Court justice Samuel Martires from August 2018 to July 2025.
Since Martires' seven-year term expired last month, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has appointed Special Prosecutor and former Court of Appeals presiding justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo as acting Ombudsman. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
