Ombudsman Samuel Martires. —File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta | Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — Ninety percent of complaints filed before the Office of the Ombudsman during the election period are politically motivated, according to its chief, Samuel Martires.
Martires made the pronouncement when asked if his office still entertains cases that are “obviously” related to politics.
“We give importance to all cases filed with the Ombudsman. Whether they are politically motivated or not, 90 percent of those filed, especially near elections, are politically motivated,” Martires said in Filipino in an interview with DZRH.
READ: Ombudsman denies motion to suspend Romualdez, others over budget mess
“But we are investigating if there is truth in the cases they are filing before us, and we are dismissing those that are untrue,” he added.
However, Martires noted that some complainants want the respondents of their case to be immediately suspended.
“They think that all cases that can be filed with the Ombudsman can be subject to preventive suspension,” he said.
“No, we don’t do that. The law we follow has a standard for when we will issue a preventive suspension. The case filed with us should constitute grave misconduct, and the evidence is strong,” Martires explained.
Recently, the Office of the Ombudsman denied the motion to suspend House Speaker Martin Romualdez and three lawmakers over the alleged P241 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget.
In a 10-page resolution dated March 7 but released to the media on Tuesday, the Ombudsman said it dismissed the motion filed by Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, lawyer Ferdie Topacio, and PDP-Laban senatorial candidate lawyer Jimmy Bondoc for “utter paucity of merit” — or lack of merit.
The Ombudsman also ordered the complaint be “suspended” and “held in abeyance” until such time that the Supreme Court “has resolved with finality” the petition certiorari and prohibition filed by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, lawyer Victor Rodriguez, and others.
Aside from this, a criminal and administrative complaint was filed against Marikina Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro and five other Marikina officials.
The complaint was lodged last January 23 but was released to the media on Monday (March 10).
In the complaint, Rico Mariano, the sole proprietor of Maisie Enterprise — a business that provides office and school supplies — alleged that irregularities related to the procurement of various materials for the local government between 2018 and 2021 were committed by the Marikina officials.