Drilon to Ombudsman: Submit proposals to strengthen anti-graft law to Congress
MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker on Wednesday urged the Office of the Ombudsman, the body meant to check graft and corruption in government, to present Congress with specific proposals to better enforce transparency among public officials.
"I call on the Ombudsman to submit to Congress his proposed amendments to RA 6713 to strengthen it and make the law more attuned to the present times," Senate Minority Franklin Drilon said during an intrerview with ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.
The Senate chief fiscalizer was referring to the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
"Transparency is our goal, so we will look at the existing law to see what we can do to strengthen the principle of transparency...I would like to see specific proposals from the Ombudsman," he added in a mix of English and Filipino.
Drilon said this after the anti-graft body released new guidelines which restrict access to government officials' Statements of Assets, Liabilitites and Net Worth.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Tuesday also told the House of Representatives that he has not been conducting lifestyle checks on public officials because he could not see the "logic" behind doing so.
“Now that I assumed [the post] as Ombudsman, I ordered a stop on lifestyle checks because I have long had questions, doubts on that provision of the law about lifestyle check,” Martires told the lawmakers in Filipino.
"I suspect that the views of the Ombudsman reflects the thinking of the Supreme Court being a former member of the High Court and a Sandiganbayan justice," a statement by Drilon read.
"Hence, it behooves Congress to listen to what the judiciary is saying and find out how it can amend the law and make it attuned with the times," he added.
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