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Ombudsman Carpio Morales bares 8-point agenda
17 October 2011

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales laid down the seven-year roadmap of the Office of the Ombudsman, in her first press conference since she assumed office more than two months ago. 

In the presscon held on October 14, 2011 at the Ombudsman Hearing Room, Ombudsman Morales expounded on the Office’s policy thrust and 8-point priorities for 2011 to 2018.  The strategic plan came after a month-long consultation with the various units and bureaus and a week-long pre-planning workshop and executive planning session by Ombudsman officials and employees.

As a policy thrust, Ombudsman Carpio Morales vowed to “enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, accountability, credibility and responsiveness” of the Office of the Ombudsman towards the “improvement of corruption prevention and control.”  As part of her reform programs, she is vigorously pursuing and prioritizing eight identified agenda:

Disposition of high-profile cases

Ombudsman Carpio Morales vowed to zero in on high-profile cases by prioritizing the disposition of complaints and cases involving high-ranking officials, large sums of money, grand corruption cases, and celebrated or high-profile cases.

Ombudsman Carpio Morales stated that the Office of the Ombudsman “should not be satisfied in catching the ‘small fish,’ as it must go after the school of ‘big fish’ lurking in government offices.”

She explained that the Office of the Ombudsman shall effectively reduce the volume of non-priority complaints and cases – i.e., non-corruption cases, frivolous cases, and cases involving offenses committed not in relation to office – which may be coordinated with or referred to other forums or agencies upon the forging or renewal of Memoranda of Agreement/Understanding (MOAs/MOUs) with government agencies like the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Justice.             

Zero Backlog

To remedy the heavy caseload of more than 11,000 pending criminal and administrative cases.  Ombudsman Carpio Morales undertook to monitor the strict enforcement of the prescribed time frames under existing rules, which monitoring will be easily facilitated upon the full operation of the computerized and centralized Uniform Case Monitoring System early next year.  She added that cases involving retiring public officials and employees shall also be resolved with dispatch.

“Given the enormity of the workload, it seems like an impossible dream to set a goal of zero backlog, but a seven-year period is ahead of us.  A good start is to gain ground in achieving it and, eventually, sustain that momentum,” she remarked.   She added that zero backlog will depend on the collective efficiency of the entire human resources and the effectiveness of the internal processes.

Ombudsman Carpio Morales revealed the plan of creating a Committee on Rules which will consolidate the Internal Rules and revise the Rules of Procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman.  The Committee – to be comprised of Ombudsman officials, senior legal experts, and a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – shall revisit and fill in any gap in the systems and processes of the Office.       

Improved “survival” rate of fact-finding
          Under its third priority, the Office of the Ombudsman aims to enhance the quality of the initial stage of fact-finding investigation or evidence-gathering should be enhanced, following the standards of a fair, impartial and expeditious case build-up.  Ombudsman Carpio Morales intends to train field investigators in specialized techniques like forensic engineering and forensic auditing. 

          One specific measure that the Office of the Ombudsman is looking at is the gradual integration of prosecutorial functions, where trial prosecutors at the Office of the Special Prosecutor shall be involved in the preliminary investigation as members of investigating prosecution panels, while graft investigation officers at the Central Office shall be involved in the trial of cases before the Sandiganbayan as members of trial prosecution teams.

Enforced monitoring of referred cases
The Ombudsman also plans to institute a system of monitoring “referred complaints and cases” under Section 23(2) of the Ombudsman Act to ensure no unreasonable delay in the termination of the administrative proceedings.

          She cites as instances the criminal cases referred by the Office of the Ombudsman to the Department of Justice for prosecution in the regular trial courts, which shall be monitored until their final disposition in court; and Ombudsman decisions in administrative cases that are eventually indorsed to the heads of concerned agencies for implementation of the administrative penalty, which shall be strictly monitored to ensure compliance therewith.

Improved responsiveness of public assistance
          She also enjoined Ombudsman officials and employees to render meaningful, responsive, and relevant public assistance.  According to Ombudsman Carpio Morales, a system for active handling of public feedback and redress of grievance  shall be established to ensure compliance with this standard of public service delivery.  She directed the concerned action officer to take sufficient actions under existing rules to address the requests for assistance and cases referred to mediation.

Improved anti-corruption policy and program coordination among sectors
          The Ombudsman maintained a three-pronged approach in the war against corruption:  enforcement, prevention, and anti-corruption promotion.      In devising a multi-sectoral strategy to mobilize the support of stakeholders, Ombudsman specifies that a review of guidelines in the accreditation of private entities as partners/units shall be made.

Rationalization of the functional structure
          Ombudsman Carpio Morales reported that the selection process in the hiring of more than 100 lawyers – one of her first pronouncements during her first few days in office – is in full swing.     
          Under this seventh priority, the Ombudsman stated that the review of the existing functional structure of the Office is aimed at identifying gaps and overlaps in the discharge of various functions, rationalizing task assignment and division of work processes, and arriving at an accounting of personnel and other resources.  She committed to adopt such structure, staffing pattern, systems, and procedures that are uniform in its central and area/sectoral offices.
          Her initial assessments show that there are units or bureaus that are undermanned while some are over-manned, and the existing staffing pattern shows a drift towards the “career plateauing” at the middle management level.  She warned that appropriate management action shall be taken against all non-performing officials and personnel.

Enhanced transparency and credibility
          The Ombudsman vowed to observe transparency in all its dealings with the public.  She intends to review the existing policy on access to information regarding cases being investigated or prosecuted, and policies regulating personnel action and procurement activities.  According to the Ombudsman, a comprehensive Communication Plan shall be adopted.
          “In improving public perception, however, there is still no substitute to doing one’s job well,” she said.
          Ombudsman Carpio Morales, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, assumed office a day after President Benigno Aquino III announced her appointment during his State of the Nation Address on July 25, 2011. 

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