Remulla readying raps vs 15 ‘Cong-tractors’
Only hours after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla reported for work on the weekend, he told journalists that investigators are already looking at around 100 to 200 people involved in the flood project anomalies that have emerged since September.
Of the 200, the newly minted ombudsman said, there are about 67 “Cong-tractors” (or, congressmen-contractors) who may be easier to pin down than the others.
“Of the 67, there are about 12 to 15 low-laying fruit ready for plucking,” Remulla said at his first press briefing at the Ombudsman’s headquarters in Quezon City. “As for the rest, we may have to build up the cases far more.”
“We know that the cases are there, but how do we prove it? That’s our job, to prove charges that stand in court,” he said, noting that some cases are already awaiting processing from Ombudsman lawyers while others are in varying stages of development, as court cases go.
Will anyone even go to jail
But Remulla assured journalists that the Office of the Ombudsman has the skills and experience to catch many of the perpetrators and send them some time, although some are easier to prove than others, while others cost more time than most.
Remulla said that he has yet to finalize the new rules and guidelines for the public’s easier access to the statement of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN), but even then, the rules would still have to be validated with common practices, particularly the light of the new legislation on privacy rights.
He said the reforms he envisioned include making public the SALNs of public officials and subjecting them to lifestyle checks.
However, he mentioned certain conditions before the document is released, including a possible “information sharing” agreement with members of the press who would need the SALN for producing investigative reports.
“I want to open this office to the public. We are supposed to be the ‘sumbungan ng bayan,’ (public complaint center),” Remulla told reporters at a press conference.
The former justice secretary said the SALNs of former President Rodrigo Duterte, President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte would be among those that could be accessed beginning next week.
He also said he was “open” to the possibility of making SALNs dating back to 2016 available for scrutiny.
“This is public information that we’re looking for. We are talking about transparency here, so let’s go all the way,” he said.
Memorandum
Remulla said he would issue a memorandum next week, possibly on Oct. 15, that would reverse restrictions placed by former Ombudsman Samuel Martires.
He, however, emphasized that there had to be “requesting parties” for an official’s SALN and that there should be an “undertaking” in making these requests.
“They (SALNs) could be weaponized. There should be an undertaking when someone requests a SALN,” he explained.
On Tuesday, shortly after his appointment as the new Ombudsman was announced by Malacañang, Remulla said he was also considering an arrangement with the media, especially in cases where SALNs would be used for investigative reports.
“What’s the reason for requesting the SALN? If it’s for investigative journalism, maybe the findings can be shared, exactly all the findings should be shared with the Office of the Ombudsman also, so [we’re] not left in a lurch, not left in a void … In releasing information, we [also] get information,’’ he said.
Remulla again floated the idea on Friday: “When you have that article and you discover facts … It’s about information sharing, after all. You want information, okay; but you give me information also.”
Restricted release
He also raised the possibility of redacting certain details from the copies of the SALNs cleared for release, to accord due privacy to the officials’ personal matters.
Remulla said he also intended to tap the public’s assistance in conducting lifestyle checks through “crowdsourcing of information.”
“We will open a line for that,” he said, adding the process would be fine-tuned and “old-timers” in the government would be consulted before releasing the memo.
