The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) said it would prefer to work quietly, away from the limelight, particularly when the reputation of people in the government is concerned.
“After all, we still operate under the Constitutional presumption of innocence and the statutory presumption that official functions are regularly performed,” Ombudsman Samuel Martires said in a statement Friday.
Martires was referring to the Annual Audit Report (AAR) posted by the Commission on Audit on its website, which contains the various observations of COA with respect to its inquiry into the budget utilization of the Department of Health (DOH) for fiscal year 2020.
He said he already ordered a motu propio (own initiative) investigation as early as June 2020 relative to the procurement of test kits, PPE’s and other emergency purchases, including the non-payment to ” fallen health workers” and those infected by the virus.
The investigation is also looking into the alleged lapses and inefficiencies that led to the rising number of deaths and infected medical front-liners.
The ongoing investigation, he said, already resulted in the preventive suspension of at least five DOH officials sometime in October 2020.
”Our next step now is to review the COA Report and compare the same with our findings to determine the existence of any administrative or criminal liability in relation to the financial transactions of the DOH,” Martires added.
He said the investigation is also focused on determining the causes of inefficiency or mismanagement and identifying areas prone to corruption, the results of which will be communicated to the agency concerned and to Congress for appropriate legislation, if necessary.
The 2020 AAR will greatly help in the investigation, he said.
He went on to say that he ordered the deactivation of a task force created by former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales due to legal infirmities.
The task force, which was composed of COA auditors and Ombudsman investigators, was part of a 2017 memorandum of agreement that automatically investigates audit observations tagged by the COA.
“I would like to apologize to former Ombudsman Justice Conchita Carpio Morales for not informing her that I deactivated the task force because I noted some legal infirmities in the MOA like usurpation of authority,” he said.
He added that he wants to avoid another wastage of government resources and embarrassment on the part of Ombudsman prosecutors like the numerous anti-graft and malversation cases Morales filed against a former Congressman Enrico Echeverri and several department heads of Caloocan City based on a COA AAR.
When the cases against Echeverri, et al. were filed, the audit process has not yet been completed and the accused were able to appeal the audit observations to the Commission en banc, which overturned the findings of the auditors.
The OMB criminal cases pending with the Sandiganbayan reached the Supreme Court that dismissed the cases on the basis of the decision of the Commission Proper prompting OMB prosecutors to withdraw the other cases against Echiverri and others.
The AAR, he clarified, is composed of several Audit Observations Memorandums and the agency is given the time to comply with the recommendations of the auditors.
He said the AAR is final and can no longer be changed but the audit process is still ongoing and still incomplete.
“If we were to compare it to a case before the regular courts, the findings of the auditor can be likened to a decision by the Regional Trial Court which is appealable to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. In this case, the audit observations can still be brought to the Commission Proper for final decision, Martires said. (PNA)