By Wilnard Bacelonia
MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman may soon have its own law enforcement arm capable of making arrests and conducting searches and seizures under a measure filed in the Senate.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday Senate Bill 2394, or the proposed Ombudsman Marshall Service Act, would reduce the anti-graft body’s dependence on the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in carrying out law enforcement functions.
“The Ombudsman needs its own law enforcement arm. It currently relies on help from the PNP and NBI,” he said in a news release.
Lacson said he filed the measure after seeing the challenges faced by the Ombudsman in investigating cases involving flood control, reclamation, and other infrastructure projects.
“The bill I filed gives the Ombudsman its own law enforcement arm focusing on graft and corruption cases under the mandate of the Ombudsman, to show my support for their work. With the law enforcement arm, it can apply for search warrants and serve arrest warrants to make its job easier,” he said.
SB 2394 seeks to amend Republic Act 6770, or the Ombudsman Act of 1989, by creating an Ombudsman Marshall Service tasked with conducting proactive inspections, inquiries, and investigations to gather evidence and build cases.
Its peace officers, to be known as Ombudsman Marshals, would be authorized to make arrests, effect detention, conduct lawful searches and seizures, and carry out various forms of investigation.
The service may also enforce orders, writs, and processes issued by the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, and other anti-corruption courts, agencies, or units.
Marshals would be allowed to carry suitable firearms in the performance of their duties and for the protection of witnesses and persons in custody without securing permits from other government agencies.
The measure also requires adequate facilities for detainees under investigation, whistleblowers, and witnesses placed under the service’s custody.
The proposed service would be headed by a Special Investigator who would have the rank, salary, benefits, and retirement privileges of a Deputy Ombudsman.
Lacson said he has coordinated with Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights chairperson Senator Francis Pangilinan to prioritize hearings and sponsorship of the bill.
He said a subcommittee could also be created and tasked to handle the measure, allowing him to defend it in plenary and help expedite its passage.
Lacson has likewise discussed the proposal with House of Representatives Justice Committee chairperson, Rep. Gerville Luistro, whose panel is handling its counterpart measure.
The senator earlier identified strengthening the Ombudsman as among the recommendations arising from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s inquiry into anomalous flood control projects. (PNA)
