Camille Naredo

The Office of the Ombudsman. Quezon City. February 19, 2020. 

The Office of the Ombudsman. Quezon City. February 19, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

GOV'T OFFICES

Agatha Gregorio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175740458536620200219-ombudsman-headquarters-JC-8900 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The Office of the Ombudsman. Quezon City. February 19, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The Office of the Ombudsman. Quezon City. February 19, 2020. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- The House Committee on Appropriations looks to &quot;recalibrate&quot; the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman based on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.&#x27;s instructions on the independent commission meant to investigate flood control project anomalies.</p><p>According to House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Rep. Mikaela Suansing, they are waiting for the direction of the chief executive on how the commission will be composed. </p><p>On Tuesday, the president said its composition and powers will be announced within 48 hours.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/9/powers-members-of-investigative-panel-on-flood-control-mess-out-soon-marcos-1111" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ: Powers, members of investigative panel on flood control mess out soon -- Marcos</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/7/independent-commission-on-flood-control-probe-will-have-all-powers-necessary-says-marcos-jr-2145">READ: Independent commission on flood control probe will have &#x27;all powers necessary,&#x27; says Marcos Jr.</a></div><p>&quot;So on the part of the Committee on Appropriations, we&#x27;ll also recalibrate the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman to, of course, operationalize what needs to be done based on the developments,&quot; Suansing told reporters after the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the Office of the Ombudsman&#x27;s 2026 budget on Tuesday.</p><p>The committee also gave the office 48 hours to submit additional information to help them decide on additional funding, especially concerning the independent commission meant to investigate flood control projects, as well as Ombudsman Assistance Centers (OAC).</p><p>Suansing also asked for the cost estimate on how much is needed to expand the OACs&#x27; capabilities, as well as manpower and resources needed to enable operations of the office&#x27;s 13-member flood control panel.</p><p>&quot;Our colleagues here today recognized the very critical role that the Office of the Ombudsman will play in making sure that the independent commission, panel that our president would like to put together to address the flood control developments, the alleged anomalies. Essentially, you would play such a huge role in making that panel successful… Maganda po na na-bring out po ng mga kasamahan ko dito that that was not at all factored in when you planned for your FY 2026 budget. So I want to make sure that we are able to factor that in,&quot; Suansing said.</p><p>Prior to this, FPJ PANDAY BAYANIHAN Rep. Brian Poe said they should look into how much the office would need for the panel the Ombudsman is putting together to probe flood control projects.</p><p>During their presentation at the hearing, the Office of the Ombudsman initially requested additional funding at over P36 million to create casual positions for the implementation of digitization of prior years&#x27; records to &quot;preserve essential documents.&quot;</p><p>The office also asked for an additional P93.6 million for six more OACs.</p><p>The Office of the Ombudsman&#x27;s budget under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) is at P6.39 billion, up by 8.83% from the 2025 budget of P5.87 billion.</p><p>Poe also said he hoped there would be an update on cases regarding the Pharmally issue by the time the office&#x27;s budget reaches plenary.</p><p>This was after Deputy Ombudsman Jose Balmeo Jr. told lawmakers there is one case before the Sandiganbayan regarding this, and there is another that will be filed.</p><p>&quot;Hopefully the plenary may update tayo dito…. Maliban dito sa mga flood control issues natin ngayon, siyempre, once upon a time, &#x27;yung Pharmally was the big case of the day. Kaya let&#x27;s show our kababayans na there&#x27;s moving progress and accountability when it comes to even old issues,&quot; Poe said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/2/ombudsman-panel-to-probe-flood-control-projects-1531">READ: Ombudsman panel to probe flood control projects</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>ASSIGNING LAWYERS TO OMBUDSMAN ASSISTANCE CENTERS </strong></div><p>House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Suansing also suggested expanding the scope of OACs so people can submit reports there, especially with regard to flood control projects.</p><p>&quot;We hope that Office of the Ombudsman can also consider that aside from having these OACs act as mostly administrative centers for clearances and acceptance of SALNs, sana maging avenue din po sila para sa mga kababayan natin na gusto pong magsumbong at gustong idulog patungkol po sa nakikita nila, most especially with regard to the flood control developments,&quot; Suansong said. </p><p>According to Balmeo, the centers are already able to accept complaints, which are then forwarded to their other offices.</p><p>But they intend to assign a lawyer to each center to provide necessary advice, as they do not have lawyers for this at this time. </p><p>This is yet to be factored into the proposed 2026 budget. </p><p>&quot;They&#x27;re doing that. They are receiving complaints in those assistance centers. But they forward it either to the Visayas office or the Mindanao office or the central office,&quot; Balmeo said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>950 FACT-FINDING CASES UNDER OMBUDSMAN </strong></div><p>Deputy Ombudsman Jose Balmeo said they have 210 newly hired personnel in response to questions on what the office is doing to complete investigation for 950 fact-finding cases.</p><p>Balmeo added that, at this time, they have yet to fully utilize AI when it comes to speed up disposition of cases, but they are asking for funding for a cybercrime laboratory.</p><p>&quot;Up to this time, we have not been fully utilizing AI. That&#x27;s why part of our budget request would be to put up a cybercrime laboratory to help our investigators to be abreast with the new technology,&quot; Balmeo said.</p><p>Their conviction rate as of July for Sandiganbayan cases is at 47.49% with 180 convictions, according to Balmeo.</p>

<p>The House Committee on Appropriations looks to "recalibrate" the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman based on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s instructions on the independent commission meant to investigate flood control project anomalies.</p>

The House Committee on Appropriations looks to "recalibrate" the budget of the Office of the Ombudsman based on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s instructions on the independent commission meant to investigate flood control project anomalies.

Ombudsman's budget to be 'recalibrated' pending details of flood control investigative panel

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Nation

Ombudsman's budget to be 'recalibrated' pending details of flood control investigative panel

Agatha Gregorio,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 09, 2025 03:58 PM PHT

Read More:

budget

Office of the Ombudsman

flood control probe

House Committee on Appropriations

House of Representatives

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.