Miriam asks Ombudsman to prioritize Congress recommendations

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Wednesday asked the Office of the Ombudsman to immediately act on the recommendations born from congressional investigations. In a statement, Santiago said she might file a bill directing the Ombudsman to prioritize the preliminary investigation of criminal cases recommended for filing by the Senate and the House of Representatives. "When the Senate makes a recommendation for prosecution, usually the evidence is already contained or identified in the committee report. If the Ombudsman fails to act on a Senate recommendation, in effect the Ombudsman renders the Senate probe useless," she said. Santiago, a lawyer, said under the Rules of Court, the Ombudsman has about 25 days to finish a preliminary investigation. She noted that in many of the cases that the Senate recommended to be filed, the Ombudsman did not act at all or just let the cases "languish" pending preliminary investigation. “Maybe the Senate blue ribbon committee should investigate the inexplicable delay in the preliminary investigation of these cases," she said. She specifically cited the 2006 fertilizer fund scam; the 2008 case of the Euro Generals; the 2009 Road Board scam; and the NBN-ZTE scandal. “Despite the recommendations made by the Senate, the office of the Ombudsman failed to resolve these cases promptly," Santiago said. - Kimberly Jane Tan/GMA News