Senate scrutinizes Ombudsman's P1.66-B staffing request amid 51% vacancy rate

The Office of the Ombudsman’s request for P1.66 billion to fill 1,247 vacant positions came under scrutiny at the Senate finance committee hearing on Thursday, with lawmakers questioning whether the anti-graft agency can absorb the funds while more than half of its plantilla remains unfilled.

The Ombudsman has 2,439 authorized positions but only 1,192 filled positions, translating to a 51.1% vacancy rate, according to figures presented during the hearing on the agency’s proposed 2027 budget.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the agency was already working to fill the vacancies, noting that it had hired 60 lawyers this year and expected to hire another 40 by November.

He said the hiring process could take seven to eight months, from application to appointment, because of the agency’s stringent screening procedures and government personnel rules.

“For the 100 lawyers we’re hiring this year, including the 60 we already hired, there were 3,700 applicants. It’s a very, very good position for lawyers to aspire for, and the quality of the applicants is actually very, very impressive,” he said.

Remulla also cited space constraints in the Ombudsman’s existing offices as another factor affecting its capacity to expand its workforce. The agency is seeking funding for a new office building.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said the Ombudsman’s proposed staffing allocation could take years to fully utilize.

Remulla said that if given the resources, the agency could hire more than 400 personnel within a year, but acknowledged that filling all the vacancies could take about three years.

“It’s the absorptive capacity of the office. Hindi po tayo sanay sa malaking puwersa,” he said.

(It’s the absorptive capacity of the office. We are not accustomed to having such a large workforce.)

Lacson suggested that part of the staffing allocation could instead be realigned toward other Ombudsman priorities, including the proposed Ombudsman Marshal Service, particularly if the agency would not be able to obligate the entire staffing fund within the period covered by continuing appropriations.

The proposed Ombudsman Marshal Service would initially require 100 positions, with personnel deployed across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Remulla warns long-running graft cases risk dismissal

The staffing discussion came as Remulla emphasized the need to increase the Ombudsman’s capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption cases before they become bogged down in lengthy proceedings.

He told senators that some cases before the Sandiganbayan have been pending for decades.

The prolonged proceedings, he said, can result in cases being dismissed because of inordinate delay.

“We had cases which were filed in 1987, which are still in the Sandiganbayan. And there are so many cases that have a 15-year life already, and which of course results to dismissal because of the inordinate delay of justice," he said.

Remulla said the Ombudsman has set a target of continuously presenting its cases within one year from filing, which he described as an ideal timeline that would require cooperation from the Sandiganbayan.

“Among the most important of these is to be able to present our case continuously for one year, and our target is to be able to present our cases within a one-year period from filing,” he said.

He said shortening the period for resolving cases would help prevent problems involving lost evidence and witnesses, while ensuring that cases do not remain pending indefinitely.

The Ombudsman reported that as of June 30, 2026, it had 4,219 pending cases: 1,955 criminal cases, six forfeiture cases and 2,258 administrative cases.

The agency has also revised its procedures to shorten the fact-finding stage, with simple cases now subject to a 60-day period and complex cases to 90 days.

Resident Ombudsman program reactivated

Alongside the push to increase its overall workforce, the Ombudsman said it has also reactivated its Bureau of the Resident Ombudsman, which had been inactive for several years.

The agency has now hired 10 additional lawyers to augment the bureau.

After appropriate training, the lawyers will be deployed to government agencies, particularly high-revenue-generating agencies, where they are expected to investigate complaints and gather information on possible irregularities.

The Ombudsman initially proposed a P12.8-billion budget for 2027, but the National Expenditure Program recommended only P7.23 billion, prompting senators to examine which proposed programs and expenditures should be restored. — VBL, GMA News