Ombudsman asks 204 new hires to reapply
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Monday he would ask 204 new employees who were hired in July to reapply so that they would not be considered “midnight appointees.”
At a press briefing, Remulla said he has also ordered a review of the Office of the Ombudsman’s admission and hiring process.
“Unfortunately, last July, there were 204 new hires in the Office of the Ombudsman and I will ask these 204 people to reapply because they are still under [a] six-month probationary period. I will ask them to reapply lest they become or be treated as midnight appointees,” he told reporters.
“That’s in good faith. I hope they’re all in good faith also. They can reapply and some of them [should] probably hand in courtesy resignations just to show good faith. You don’t want to be arriving in a place [where] all the empty seats you expected for your companions were suddenly filled up,” Remulla added.
The former justice secretary also said they have asked the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to assist his office in evaluating these cases.
CSC assistance sought
“The CSC is very forthcoming. And they have communicated to us their willingness to help us with this issue of midnight appointees,” Remulla said.
A midnight appointment refers to an appointment to a political office that is made during the “final hours” of the appointing official’s term.
Remulla’s predecessor, former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, retired on July 27. The former associate justice of the Supreme Court was appointed to the post in 2018 by then President Rodrigo Duterte.
Remulla, on the other hand, was named by President Marcos as the new Ombudsman on Oct. 7.
New policy on SALNs
A week after he took over, the Office of the Ombudsman lifted restrictions on public access to the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of government officials, reversing the policy imposed by Martires.
Remulla’s Memorandum Circular No. 3, which reopens public access to SALNs, will take effect 15 days after its Oct. 14 publication.
All SALNs, according to the guidelines, can be accessed, except if the Office of the Ombudsman is not the official repository, the SALN is not on file or the request is for an unauthorized commercial purpose.
Access will also be restricted if the requesting party has a derogatory record of misuse, the request is linked to a pending case to influence or harass, there is evidence of extortion or safety threats, the identity of the requesting party is fictitious, or the purpose is contrary to law, morals, or public policy.
Access to SALNs was previously restricted under Martires through Memorandum Circular No. 1, Series of 2020.
The memorandum required anyone requesting a copy of a SALN to present a notarized letter of authority from the declarant, effectively barring the public and the media from obtaining the documents unless permitted by the official concerned.
