Duterte commends Ombudsman: I find Martires a very reasonable man

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday commended Ombudsman Samuel Martires over his office’s good relations with the Executive Department as well as its efforts to aid investigations into corruption allegations hounding the state health insurer.

“If you would notice the fact that at no other time, ‘yung rapport ng Ombudsman pati Executive Department, maganda ang pagsamahan. It’s a matter of human relations eh,” Duterte said in his weekly address from Davao City.

The Office of the Ombudsman earlier suspended several officials of the embattled Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), although it was not immediately clear whether the suspension was related to the allegations of widespread corruption.

“I find Martires a very reasonable man, pero ‘yung naglabas ‘yung PhilHealth na sunod sunod sabi ko na, ‘Well I think he is also really trying his best to help us.’ So kung gano’n ang sitwasyon we are better off, at least for now, sana magpatuloy yung pakisama natin sa [Ombudsman],” Duterte said.

“I do not even know him. I do not know him. Pero kung ganoon ang nakuha mong reception sa kanya, it’s a matter of human niceties. I’d like to thank you for that. We need that kind of relationship with the Ombudsman,” he added.

Last week, the Ombudsman restricted access to public officials’ Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) by requiring the consent of the concerned officials.

A coalition of civil society groups earlier said it would explore legal measures against the Ombudsman’s latest directive.

Malacañang, for its part, maintained that Duterte is not hiding anything from the public.

In 2019, Martires said he had a duty to protect the rights of government officials and employees.  — DVM, GMA News