Ombudsman cases vs erring officials down 80%

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman filed only 52 cases against erring government officials in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 261 in the first quarter of last year, according to the Sandiganbayan.

The new figure represents an 80.46-percent decrease in cases filed in the antigraft court.

Of the 52 cases, 11 were filed in January, 14 in February and 16 in March. Last year, 42 cases were filed in January, 126 in February and 93 in March.

The number of cases filed in the first quarter was the lowest in five years, according to the Sandiganbayan.

As a result, the antigraft court’s load of active cases also declined to 4,950, the lowest in three years. —Patricia Denies M. Chiu