A PARTY-list lawmaker has filed a measure seeking to authorize the Office of the Ombudsman to have private lawyers and law firms deputized to help prosecute cases.
In filing House Bill 4754, Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque proposed to amend Republic Act 6770, or the Ombudsman Act of 1989, to allow the services of private lawyers to be deputized by the Ombudsman, to work in cooperation with, and under, the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
“This is a proffered solution to the spate of dismissals of cases filed by the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan,” Roque said.
“Unlike in ordinary criminal cases where private prosecutors are allowed to prosecute the civil aspect of the case, private lawyers cannot do so in the Sandiganbayan,” Roque added.
Under HB 4754, the deputized lawyers shall work under the Office of the Special Prosecutor and shall remain under its supervision and control, upon authority of the Ombudsman.
A compensation structure based on the work evaluation studies shall be instituted, subject to the Ombudsman’s approval, Roque said in his proposed bill.
“The Ombudsman shall prepare a compensation structure to conform as closely as possible to the principles for in Republic Act 6758 or the Salary Standardization Act.”
In his exploratory note, the lawmaker said the conviction rate of the Office of the Ombudsman has historically been very low, ranging from 10 to 25 percent, depending on the year and source.
“Of late, it is most worrisome that the Office of the Special Prosecutor had lost cases against so-called ‘big fish,’ three of which are cases that were either filed by the undersigned, or cases where the undersigned had involvement in the filing of cases; to wit: the NBN-ZTE scam, the fertilizer fund scam, and the Malampaya fund scam,” Roque said.
“These cases were dismissed despite the fact that both the Senate and the Ombudsman had previously investigated them and found the evidence to be sufficient,” he added.