Ombudsman seeks own law enforcement power via Senate Bill

Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson has filed a bill seeking to grant the Office of the Ombudsman its own law enforcement service that is authorized to enforce investigations, arrests, detentions, searches and seizures. Under Senate Bill No. 2394 filed last Aug. 12, Mr. Lacson sought to amend the Ombudsman Act of 1989 by introducing a provision creating the Ombudsman Marshall Service, which will also be allowed to carry their own firearms for protection and fulfillment of their duty. “The Ombudsman needs its own law enforcement arm, because right now they are only relying on the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation,” Mr. Lacson said in a statement on Tuesday. The measure also authorizes the Ombudsman to enforce decisions, resolutions, orders, writs, and citations for contempt made by the constitutional body. The attached law enforcement body of the Office of the Ombudsman would be led by a special investigator with rank, salary, and benefits at par with the Deputy Ombudsman, as proposed in the measure. Mr. Lacson said the bill has already been referred to the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. “This proposed law enforcement arm will have the power to conduct various forms of proactive inspections, inquiries and investigations to gather evidence, and buildup cases in the implementation of its mandate and the directives of the Ombudsman,” he wrote in the explanatory note of the measure, adding that it will strengthen the investigative body. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel Information Source: BusinessWorld Nation