“The Constitutional office was envisioned to serve as the people’s sword and shield—sword against corrupt officials and shield for honest citizens and whistleblowers”
MALOLOS CITY – It’s high time to arm whistleblowers and jail corrupt public officials who pocket public funds with impunity.
As the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) screens more than a dozen applicants for the position of Ombudsman, vacated by the retirement last July 27 of Justice Samuel Martires, it is imperative for the President not to err in appointing one whose tenure under the Constitution is seven years.
In a nation plagued by the hydra of corruption, the Constitutional office was envisioned to serve as the people’s sword and shield—sword against corrupt officials and shield for honest citizens and whistleblowers.
But somewhere along the way, this noble office has lost its edge.
Walk through any public market, barangay hall, or tricycle terminal and ask: “Alam mo ba kung paano magsampa ng kaso sa Ombudsman?” More often than not, you’ll get a shrug, or worse, a look of resignation.
This disconnect between the people and the very institution tasked with defending them is alarming.
The Office of the Ombudsman is not some academic corner of government. It is a prosecutorial body created under Article XI of the 1987 Constitution and empowered under Republic Act 6770 (The Ombudsman Act of 1989), mandated to act promptly on complaints filed in any form or manner against public officials or employees.
It is germane in many ways to the work of a Provincial Prosecutor—yet for a Constitutional body tasked with exacting public accountability, it has become disturbingly inaccessible and passive.
Filing a complaint remains a bureaucratic labyrinth. Teachers, farmers, vendors, even journalists—many with firsthand knowledge of government abuses—find themselves intimidated by red tape.
The complaint desk might as well be a wall.
But even those who find luck in breaking through the filing process are often met with an abyss of silence. No updates. No docket numbers. No urgency. Just the creeping suspicion that their case has been buried or, worse, sold.
“Magkano ang tinanggap para patahimikin ang kaso?” The public, having seen this pattern too many times, can’t help but wonder.
Meanwhile, cases with clear merit stagnate. Suspension orders, as provided for under Section 24 of RA 6770, are nowhere in sight. Dismissals come years late—by then, the accused official has either spent all the fruits of corruption or conveniently passed away.
The courts, clogged and slow, become the final resting place for justice delayed.
This slow grind erodes faith in democratic institutions.
What we need now is an Ombudsman who acts agad-agad—decisively and without fear or favor.
One who does not wait for the public to cry foul before stepping in, but proactively investigates and halts wrongdoing at its root.
RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, was passed not just to punish graft, but to deter it—yet what good is the law when implementation is glacial?
“Panahon na para ang Ombudsman ay hindi maging tagamasid lang—dapat siyang maging tagapagligtas ng katotohanan at tapang ng bayan.”
Complainants must be given protection orders to ensure their safety. That protection must be given immediately after the summons is issued directing the respondent/s to answer the charges.
Complainants must also feel that they are being protected by the arms of the law the moment the criminal complaint is filed before the Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court.
The call is clear: The Ombudsman must defend whistleblowers. Protect those brave enough to speak truth to power. And stop rewarding silence and complicity.
More than anything, the Ombudsman must assert its independence. It must never serve at the pleasure of the President or any powerful official. It’s only master must be the Constitution—and the Filipino people.
We don’t need an Ombudsman who waits for orders. We need one who hears the cry of the masses and strikes when the iron of justice is hot.
The message from the people is this: NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW. Not the general. Not the district engineer backed by a powerful senator or congressman. Not even the President’s friend.
The Ombudsman must not be a political shield for the corrupt. It must be the prosecutorial spear that pierces the heart of impunity.
(The writer is a Bulacan-based correspondent of Manila Standard.)
