Ombudsman Luzon closes its Calamba office

Starting Wednesday, residents in Laguna province and nearby areas transacting with the Office of the Ombudsman's Calamba City office may have to go all the way to its office in Quezon City. The Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon on Tuesday announced its regional office in Calamba City had ended operations. “Magagaling ang mga officers natin sa Calamba pero 'di sila nama-maximize. So ibabalik natin sila sa Head Office," Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerard Mosquera said. This means all operations of the Calamba office shall be conducted and pending complaints evaluated at the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon, at the Ombudsman Building along Agham Road in Diliman, Quezon City. He said the move aims to maximize the personnel complement of Ombudsman Luzon, adding only eight officers were manning the Calamba office. Besides, he said services shall continue to be delivered from the Ombudsman's head office in Quezon City. The Calamba Regional Office, located at the City Hall along Bacnotan Road in Calamba City, is Ombudsman Luzon’s first regional office. Its second regional office in Rosales, Pangasinan, was inaugurated last April 30. Mosquera noted the services rendered in the Calamba office were "limited" to public assistance and mediation. He added applications for Ombudsman clearance were being brought to the Head Office because all data are in Quezon City. In the meantime, he advised those with pending requests with the Calamba office to contact Lora Laudato at (049) 545-6789 loc. 8207 or Lorna Sitjar at (02) 926-8794. — LBG, GMA News