Ombudsman aspirants again way of life checks on authorities officers

PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Most candidates for Ombudsman on the second day of public interviews by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) backed way of life checks on authorities officers, recognizing it as a fundamental energy of the place.

The candidates shared their sentiments amid a current order by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to conduct a way of life examine on authorities officers, starting with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), as his administration investigates the alleged anomalies in flood-control tasks nationwide.

One applicant, former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares pressured {that a} way of life examine is an “inherent power” of the Ombudsman and one in every of its “major tools” to fight and stop corruption.

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“That’s one of the basic things that an Ombudsman must do, in fact the President himself has already ordered a lifestyle check,” she mentioned in an opportunity interview with reporters.

Jacinto-Henares defined that way of life checks additionally prolong to the households of presidency officers, permitting authorities to evaluation their earnings and way of life primarily based on the taxes they’ve paid.

Another applicant, Human Rights Commissioner Beda Epres, famous that way of life checks for officers’ households and kinfolk would nonetheless rely on the proof gathered by authorities.

“That would all depend on the evidence we gather… if the illegally acquired wealth was transferred to the children, relatives, or spouse, then they would also be implicated,” he mentioned.

Both he and Jacinto-Henares, nevertheless, imagine that the Republic Act No. 6770, or the Ombudsman Act of 1989, already gives sufficient bases for way of life checks.

For Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg, nevertheless, the Ombudsman’s energy to conduct way of life checks is just not clearly said by the legislation.

“I am pro-lifestyle check, but then the law has to be clear that it is given and granted to the Office of the Ombudsman,” she mentioned.

Apart from way of life checks, all three candidates expressed intent to open—or on the very least, revisit—the restrictions at the moment carried out on the discharge of Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of public officers and make them extra accessible to the general public, even with restrictions. /cb