Ombudsman goes hunting for ghost employees

The Office of the Ombudsman will start ridding the agency of possible ghost employees as part of its celebration of its 24th year of fighting graft and corruption.

The agency will conduct a payroll verification exercise in its major departments to check if employees on its roster are physically present and are reporting for work regularly.

It will also probe whether an employee is bogus, is being substituted with someone else or only shows up on pay day.

The project will be duplicated in other government offices.

The Office of the Ombudsman started its weeklong anniversary celebration on Monday, and for its 24th anniversary, it is focusing on restoring trust and integrity in public service.

In line with this, it launched a public assistance program, which started in Quezon City. Help desks were set up at the Quezon City hall to provide various services to the public.—Leila B. Salaverria