Ombudsman: Corruption cases increasing

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

OMBUDSMAN Samuel R. Martires told Congress on Monday that corruption cases are increasing as they exist in “all government agencies” and are particularly rampant in some, including the Bureaus of Immigration (BI) and Customs (BoC).

“If you are talking about incidents of corruption, if it is increasing, it is increasing,” Mr. Martires told the House Appropriations Committee during the hearing on the budget for his office.

His statement was uttered in response to the issue raised by Party-list Rep. Marissa P. Magsino about immigration officers allegedly involved in extortion schemes like the offloading of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

“A major concern of our OFWs is the recurring offloading of OFWs at the point of departure caused by our immigration officers on suspicion of involvement in illegal recruitment and human trafficking,” Ms. Magsino said.

Yet, out of 32,000 cases of offloaded OFWs, only 472 were found to be victims or human trafficking and illegal recruitment, said the congresswoman.

In response, Mr. Martires said the Office of the Ombudsman cannot disclose any further information about its investigation of government officials and its alleged corrupt practices in monitoring illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

However, he recognized that corruption cases in “all government agencies” keep increasing. “Corruption is becoming an endemic in the Philippines,” Mr. Martires said.

“We have to introduce, as I have always been saying, a subject from kindergarten until college on God-centered values formation,” Mr. Martires told the committee deliberating on the P5.05-billion budget sought by his office. In terms of confidential funds, the Ombudsman is seeking P51.47 million for next year.

Meanwhile, Mr. Martires also called to abolish the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), which he cited for serious corruption cases.