Ombudsman moves to end ‘parking’ of cases involving high-ranking officials

The Office of the Ombudsman is cracking down on the alleged “parking” of cases after discovering at least 350 complaints involving high-ranking officials pending before the agency prior to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla’s assumption of office in October 2025.

In a press briefing, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the announcement—part of a public advisory urging complainants, respondents, or their authorized representatives to submit updates on their cases by June 19, 2026—aims to streamline the Ombudsman’s case-handling process.

“I can only speak for the office that has been subject to inventory [of cases], and that covers high-ranking officials. There are about 350 cases pending since we came in,” Clavano said.

“But we are systematically going through those cases to ensure they are resolved,” he added.

Clavano noted that before Remulla took over, simple cases could take a year to resolve, while complex cases sometimes dragged on for up to 12 years.

“We’ve found a case pending for about 12 years already, which is far too long for someone subjected to processes here at the Ombudsman," he said.

"These officials need to perform their duties, and pending cases can affect their ability to serve the public,” Clavano added

To address the issue, the Ombudsman has revised its rules to allow 90 days for fact-finding investigations and 60 days for preliminary investigations, cutting the total complaint evaluation period to just five months.

“We implemented a period similar to the Department of Justice’s investigation timeline, and we believe it can work here at the Ombudsman, especially with our digitization and capacity-building efforts,” Clavano said.

He added that the new system will help identify and prevent cases from being deliberately stalled.—MCG, GMA Integrated News