Ombudsman starts hiring new lawyers

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman has started hiring additional lawyers to strengthen its legal muscle and help fight graft and corruption in government.

An announcement posted on the anti-graft agency’s official website, www.ombudsman.gov.ph, said an initial number of 79 positions are now waiting to be filled up.

The Office of the Ombudsman said it is now accepting applications for 48 Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer 1 (GIPO-1) positions, the lowest ranking lawyer position at the agency.

It also announced the hiring of 24 GIPO-2 and seven GIPO-3 positions for assignment to various offices and bureaus handling investigative legal work against erring government officials.

Applicants should have at least three years of experience in the practice of law, counseling, investigation and prosecution of cases, hearing on administrative and criminal cases, legal research or other related jobs.

Lawyer Rawsle Lopez, spokesperson for Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro, earlier told The STAR of the competitive compensation package awaiting those who will be hired.

She said a GIPO-1 has a starting gross monthly salary of P52,000 with allowances reaching P18,000 covering food, transportation, and other needs.

A GIPO-3, on the other hand, gets a gross monthly pay of P59,000 plus P21,000 allowance.

Lopez believes that the anti-graft agency’s compensation package is good enough to attract “dynamic, dedicated and hardworking lawyers with a passion for public service.”

Earlier, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales announced that the agency will hire around a hundred additional lawyers who will help cleanse the government of unscrupulous public officials.

Since her appointment as the country’s chief graft buster a month ago, Morales has reportedly been studying the status of pending cases and complaints against government officials as well as the processes within the anti-graft agency.

The retired Supreme Court associate justice has designated her former chief of staff and now Assistant Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan as her spokesperson.