Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales vows to land big fish, zero backlog

FIGHTING FORM. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales in her first press conference on Friday unveils her 8-point agenda in the next seven years including focusing on catching the big fish and reducing the 11,000-case backlog at the antigraft office to zero. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

What to expect from Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales? An intent to catch the big fish and independence at all times, at the very least.

Displaying fighting form in her first press conference as chief graft-buster, Morales on Friday promised to focus on high-profile corruption cases and to reduce the 11,000-case backlog cluttering her office’s dockets to zero.

Among the cases brought to Morales’ office is the controversial 2009 purchase by the Philippine National Police of used helicopters passed off as brand-new. The choppers are said to have been owned by Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, the husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

A fact-finding team that Morales said she formed on Thursday, the very day the Senate filed a  new criminal complaint against Mike Arroyo based on the findings of its blue ribbon committee, is now looking into the matter.

The team, which includes a special prosecutor and a director, has a week (or until Oct. 21) to complete its task, according to Morales. The results of its work are to be presented to the Ombudsman, who will decide on the course of action to take.

The results of a fact-finding inquiry launched earlier to determine former President Arroyo’s involvement in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam has been submitted to Morales, whose recommendation on the matter will be known “anytime soon.”

‘Exhaustive’ Senate probe

Morales said that while Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro had earlier formed a team to look into the helicopter controversy, she believed that a new one should handle it now.

“Given the submission by the Senate of this more detailed result of its investigation, that would lighten our burden,” she said, describing the inquiry as “exhaustive.”

Mike Arroyo’s bookkeeper helped pin him down by establishing the money trail and ownership of the secondhand helicopters, according to the Senate blue ribbon committee.

Apart from Mike Arroyo, 18 others, including former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and former PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa, were charged with violation of the antigraft law and the procurement law.

The PNP earlier also filed plunder complaints against Mike Arroyo and police officials over the purchase of the choppers.

8-point agenda

Morales, a retired senior associate justice of the Supreme Court, unveiled her eight-point agenda for the next seven years.

“The Office of the Ombudsman should not be satisfied in just catching the small fish. It must go after the school of big fish lurking in government offices, and in so doing, it needs a bigger net or a wider angle in approaching the focus of the target,” she said.

Also part of Morales’ plan is to improve the credibility of the Office of the Ombudsman. But she pointed out that in improving public perception, “there is still no substitute for doing one’s job well.”

Saying she was impervious to influence and pressure, Morales said she would not kowtow to any demand of President Aquino who, in appointing her, had himself said she should be independent.

In filing cases, Morales will ensure that the evidence is airtight. “You just don’t go berserk in filing a case if you believe the case does not merit conviction just to please the public expectation,” she said, adding that witnesses were sometimes “barking left and right” although their testimonies eventually did not amount to much.

Morales also said her office and the Department of Justice (DOJ) had been engaged in fact-finding and evidence-gathering work with regard to the cases filed against former President Arroyo.

Now a representative of Pampanga, Gloria Arroyo is facing five plunder cases in the DOJ and the Office of the Ombudsman stemming from the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds, fertilizer funds and overseas workers funds; the questionable sale of the Iloilo airport; and the scuttled National Broadband Network deal.

Sharper focus

Morales said her office would focus on high-profile cases and those involving ranking officials, grand corruption, and large sums of money.

She said that in order to reduce the volume of nonpriority and frivolous complaints and cases, such as those not involving corruption or involving offenses not committed in relation to public office, these cases may be coordinated with or referred to other agencies such as the DOJ or the Civil Service Commission.

Morales also said she intended to improve the fact-finding and evidence-gathering procedures of the Office of the Ombudsman.

She said she planned to get the Office of the Special Prosecutor and graft investigators involved in the preliminary investigation and in case trials, respectively.

As for her zero backlog goal, Morales noted that in the central office alone, there were 11,000 pending criminal and administrative cases, some of them languishing there for years.

She said she would monitor the strict enforcement of the prescribed time frames for resolving cases, helped by the computerized and centralized case monitoring system that would be fully operational next year.

Also to be resolved soon are cases involving retiring public officials and employees, she said.

Asked if the personnel responsible for the delayed resolution of cases would be punished, Morales said the Office of the Ombudsman was now examining where the delay lay, and was awaiting details of the pending cases, including when these were filed and what actions had been taken.

If necessary, administrative cases will be filed against the responsible personnel, she said, adding that she also planned to form a committee that would consolidate and revise the agency’s rules to fill gaps in the system.

3-pronged approach

Morales said she would employ a three-pronged approach consisting of enforcement, prevention and anticorruption promotion, and would seek support from stakeholders through a multisectoral strategy.

She said she would be transparent at all times, and would review policies on access to information regarding cases being investigated or prosecuted, as well as policies regulating personnel action and procurement activities.

The Office of the Ombudsman will also monitor the cases that it has referred to the DOJ and decisions in administrative cases that it has ordered implemented by the concerned government agencies, she said.

Morales said personnel had been instructed to provide meaningful, responsive and relevant public assistance.

She said a mechanism for getting public feedback and addressing grievances would be put in place.

She also said that nonperforming employees would not be tolerated, and that the structure of the Office of the Ombudsman was under review to identify gaps and overlaps in the discharge of duties.

Threats and bluffs

At one point in the press conference, Morales chided reporters for not posing questions to her, and said she hoped she did not intimidate them.

She also said the public had no reason to be intimidated by her.

As for her personal welfare, Morales admitted that she received threats and bluffs when she first assumed office, and that she was not taking these for granted.

“I know that some people have been babbling that I will not last long here because I’ll get threats and ‘white papers’ later on. I’m ready to face the threats, and I’m ready to receive any white paper,” she said, adding that a member of the media was responsible for the talk.

Morales said she had never been affected by threats.

“Threats do not threaten me. It’s the other way around,” she said.