OFFICE

OF THE

OMBUDSMAN*

I.

MANDATE

I.1

The Ombudsman and his Deputies, as protectors of the people, shall

act promptly on complaints filed in any form of manner against
officers and employees of the Government, or of any subdivision,
agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned and
controlled corporations (GOCCs), and enforce their administrative,
civil and criminal liability in every case where the evidence
warrants in order to promote efficient service by the Government to
the people.1

I.2

The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) is an independent

constitutional body which is vested with broad and comprehensive
powers to institute reforms in the bureaucracy and prosecute erring
public officials and employees with ranks lower than Salary Grade
27. It performs five functions namely: (a) public assistance, (b) graft
prevention,
(c) investigation, (d) prosecution, and
(e) administrative adjudication.2

I.3

As lead implementing agency of the National Anti-Corruption Plan

of Action (NACPA), the OMB serves as mobilizer to effectively utilize
the support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the youth
sector and other major sectors of society in the campaign against
graft and corruption. It also integrates and strengthens the anticorruption initiatives and commitments with the three branches of
government and the foreign donor community.3

II.

BUDGET ALLOCATION, 2013-2015

1* This document was prepared by Aurea H. Sempio as an input to the deliberations

of the House Committee on Appropriations on the FY 2015 proposed National

Budget. The report benefited from inputs of Director Dina de Jesus-Pasagui and
from overall guidance of Acting Director General Romulo E.M. Miral, Jr. National
Expenditure Program, FY 2015.

2 www.ombudsman.gov.ph; www.coa.gov.ph
3 Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016, National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA).
1

II.1

The proposed budget of the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) for FY

2015 is
P1,731.5 million which is P62.5 million or 3.5%
lower than its allocation of P1,794 million in 2014. Last year (2013),
OMB got an increase of P116.1 million or 6.9% with its P1,677.9
million budget (see Table 1).

II.2

OMB's share to the proposed national government budget of P2.6

trillion is equivalent to 0.07%, lower than its share (0.08%) in the
current budget of P2.3 trillion.
Compared to gross domestic
product (GDP), the Ombudsmans appropriation is constant at
0.01% from 2013 to 2015.

TABLE 1
BUDGET BY AGENCY, FY 2013-2015
Particulars

2013

2014

2015

1,677.9

1,794.0

1,731.5

Growth Rates (%)

6.92

-3.48

Share to total (%)

0.08

0.08

0.07

Share to GDP (%)

0.01

0.01

0.01

Amount (in million pesos)

Source of basic data: Budget of Expenditures & Sources of Financing (BESF), 2015

By Object of Expenditure
II.3

Personal Services (PS) are provisions for the payment of

salaries, wages and other compensation (i.e. merit/salary
increase, COLA, honoraria and commutable allowances) of
permanent, temporary, contractual and casual employees.

II.4

As shown in Table 2, there will be no significant increase in the

OMBs PS budget in 2015, unlike this years growth of P43.5
million or 3% (from its 2013 budget level of P1,448.6 million). On
average (2013-2015), 84.4% of the OMBs budget goes to
Personal Services.
TABLE 2
BUDGET BY OBJECT OF EXPENDITURE, FY 2013-2015

Particulars
PS
MOOE
Capital Outlay
Total

Level (in million pesos)

Average
Share (%)

Share to Total (%)

2013

2014

2015

13-15

Growth Rates (%)

2013

2014

2015

13-14

14-15

1,448.6

1,492.1

1492.3

83.8

83.2

86.2

84.4

3.0

0.0

195.7

198.9

198.9

11.3

11.1

11.5

11.3

1.6

0.0

84.1

103

40.2

4.9

5.7

2.3

4.3

22.5

-61.0

1,728.4

1,794.0

1,731.5

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

3.8

-3.5

Source of basic data: BESF, 2014 & 2015

II.5

Table 3 shows the breakdown of the proposed P1,492.3 million PS

budget. It is noted that Other Personnel Benefits amounting to
P734.9 million constitute almost 50% of the entire PS package.

TABLE 3
BREAKDOWN OF PERSONAL SERVICES, 2015
Particulars

Amount
(in million pesos)

Salaries and Wages

505.7

33.9

Personal Economic Relief Allowance

27.9

1.9

Representation Allowance

39.3

2.6

Transportation Allowance

39.3

2.6

Clothing/Uniform Allowance

5.8

0.4

Productivity Incentive Allowance

2.3

0.2

Honoraria
Hazard Pay
Year-end Bonus
Cash Gift
Retirement and Life Insurance Premiums

0.4

0.3

0.0

42.1

2.8

5.8

0.4

60.3

4.0

Pag-IBIG Contributions of Civilian Personnel

1.4

0.1

Philhealth Contributions

3.7

0.2

Employees Compensation Insurance Premiums

1.4

0.1

Pension Benefits
Other Personnel Benefits
Total

II.6

% Share to
Total

16.1

1.1

734.9

49.2

1,492.30

100.0

Table 4 compares the number of available permanent positions and

the number of filled positions in the Office of the Ombudsman. Note
that almost 47% permanent positions are expected to remain
unfilled this year and next year.
TABLE 4
STAFFING SUMMARY
3

(NUMBER OF PERMANENT POSITIONS)

II.7

Year

Available

Filled

Unfilled

Ratio

2013

2,190

1,168

1,022

46.7%

2014

2,190

1,162

1,028

46.9%

2015

2,190

1,162

1,028

46.9%

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) refer to

current expenditures which are used in government operations such
as expenses for supplies and materials; transportation and travel;
utilities (i.e., water, power) and repairs. The OMBs proposed MOOE
will remain at P198.9 million after a 1.6% budget increase (P3.2
million) in 2014
(see Table 2).

II.8

Capital Outlays (CO) are the appropriations for the purchase of

goods and services, the benefits of which extend beyond the fiscal
year and which add to the assets of the Government. The CO
allocation for 2015 will decline by 61% or P62.8 million compared to
the 2014 budget of P103 million (see Table 2).
By Programs and Projects

II.9

Of the proposed P1,732 million 2015 obligation budget, P1,671.2

million will require new appropriations from Congress, while P60.8
million is already covered by automatic appropriations (i.e.,
retirement and life insurance premium or RLIP, pension, tax
expenditures fund, internal revenue allotment, interest payment,
etc.).

II.10 On average, 67.1% of new appropriations goes to General

Administration and Support Services (GASS). On the other hand,
Operations get an average share of around 31%. Note also that
GASS will get an increase of P7.5 million or 0.7% next year, while
Operations will be cut back by P29.1 million or 5.5% (see Table 5).
II.11 Under the Special Provisions, the OMB has a budget worth P733.6
million which is intended for the filling up of unfilled positions as of
December 2013. The Office of the President requires quarterly
reports on the utilization of this allocation.
TABLE 5
OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN
NEW APPROPRIATIONS BY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS, 2013-2015
Particulars

Level (in million pesos)

2013

2014

2015

Share to Total (%)

2013

2014

2015

Ave.
Share
13-15

Growth Rates
(%)
13-14
14-15

A. Programs
I. General Admin. & Support

1,083.7

1,146.8

1,154.3

65.0

68.4

69.1

67.5

5.8

5.4

0.3

0.1

(100.0)

519.3

528.8

499.7

31.2

31.6

29.9

30.9

1.8

(5.5)

528.8

499.7

31.6

29.9

20.5

(5.5)

131.2

278.4

229.5

7.9

16.6

13.7

12.7

112.2

(17.6)

44.5

67.3

2.7

4.0

2.2

51.2

108.0

105.4

107.8

6.5

6.3

6.4

6.4

(2.4)

2.3

24.6

100.4

95.0

1.5

6.0

5.7

4.4

308.1

(5.4)

86.9

5.2

1.7

(100.0)

168.6

10.1

3.4

(100.0)

58.0

17.4

3.5

1.0

1.5

(100.0)

1,666.4

1,675.6

1,671.4

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

0.6

(0.3)

II. Support to Operations

III. Operations
MFO I - Corruption Deterrence
Services
a. Gen. Investigation and FactFinding Activities on Complaints
Filed
b. Adjudication on administrative
Cases Filed Directly with, or those
Initiated by the Ombudsman
c. Prosecution of Complaints/ Cases
d. Public Assistance/Relations and
Corruption Prevention
e. Case build-up and researches
f. Area/Sectoral Operation
B. Locally-Funded Projects
Information Systems Strategic
Plan (ISSP)
Total New Appropriations

0.7

Sources of basic data: GAA FYs 2013, 2014 and NEP FY 2015.

II.12 Under the 2014 GAA, the budget for Corruption Deterrence
Services amounts to P528.8 million. For 2015, this MFO will receive
a lesser budget of P499.7 million or a difference of P29.1 million
(5.5%).
II.13 The National Statistical Coordination Board published the
assessment of performance by various government agencies based
on their target outcomes as stated in the Philippine Development
Plan. Ratings were either good , average or poor . As shown
in Table 6, the probability of achieving control of corruption is
average. Meanwhile, voice and accountability indicator poor/low
probability.
TABLE 6
STATISTICAL INDICATORS ON PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT
PDP Target
Outcome

Effective and
transparent
governance
practiced

PDP Critical
Indicator

Baseline
Data

LATEST DATA

PDP Target

Probability of
Achieving the
PDP Target

Control of
corruption

23.9
2009

22.4
2010

26.1
2011

33.5
2012

60.0 or above
2016

Voice and
accountability

48.3
2009

48.3
2010

47.9
2011

47.9
2012

50.0 or above
2016

Source: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/stats/statdev/

III.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS
5

3.1

As in the previous years, the special provision states that all nonrecurring appropriations such as, but not limited to, foreignassisted and locally-funded projects, shall not form part of the Office
of the Ombudsmans appropriations that may not be reduced under
Section 38 of R.A. No. 6770.
Use of Savings. The Ombudsman is hereby authorized to use
savings in its appropriations to cover actual deficiencies incurred
for the current year and for the following purposes: (i) printing
and/or publication of decisions, resolutions, and training
information materials; (ii) repair, maintenance and improvement of
central and regional offices, facilities and equipment; (iii) purchase
of equipment, books, journals and periodicals; (iv)necessary
expenses for the employment of temporary, contractual and casual
employees; and (v) payment of extraordinary and miscellaneous
expenses, representation and transportation allowances, and other
authorized benefits of its officials and employees, subject to
pertinent budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

IV.

SOURCES

OF

FUNDS

AND

BUDGET UTILIZATION, 2011-2013

4.1

The annual budget of the Office of the Ombudsman is not limited to

the new general appropriations but also includes automatic
appropriations (e.g. Retirement and Life Insurance premium),
continuing appropriations and budgetary adjustments.

4.2

As shown in Table 7, the new appropriations given by Congress to

the OMB was P1,031.9 million in 2011, P1,308.7 million in 2012
and P1,666.4 million in 2013. However, its total available
appropriations during the same years amounted to
P1,916.1
million, P2,046.1 million and P1,936.9 million, respectively.

4.3

Normally, the effectivity period of a continuing appropriation

especially for Current Operating Expense (COE) would be for two
years only i.e. the current year and the immediately succeeding
year. As shown in Table 7, the continuing appropriations in 2011
come from unobligated releases for current operating expenditures
for 2008 and 2009, instead of 2010 only.

4.4

As a constitutional body, the OMB is entitled to fiscal autonomy 4

i.e. its appropriations may not be reduced below the amount
appropriated for the previous years and, after approval, shall be
automatically and regularly released.
TABLE 7
OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN
(IN MILLION PESOS)
Sources of Funds

2011

2012

2013

1,031.9

1,308.7

1,666.4

New General Appropriations

RA 10147 / RA 10155/ RA 10352
Automatic Appropriations:
Retirement Life and Insurance Premium
Military Camp Sales Proceeds Fund
Continuing Appropriations

87.8

3.2

1.0

693.4

627.4

263.5
-

Unobligated Releases for COE

R.A. No. 9524

(2009)

417.1

387.3

R.A. No. 9970

(2010)

120.3

120.3

R.A. No. 10147 (2011)

R.A. No. 10155 (2012)
R.A. No. 9498 (2008)

119.8

116.1

156.0

147.4

103.0

106.8

5.9

96.1

106.8

-5.9

6.9

Total Available Appropriations

1,916.1

2,046.1

1,936.9

Unused Appropriations
Unobligated Allotment

(627.4)

(263.5)

(323.3)

(627.4)

(263.5)

(323.3)

Total Obligations

1,288.7

1,782.6

1,613.6

67.3%

87.1%

83.3%

Budgetary Adjustment (s)

Transfer (s) from:
Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund
Pension and Gratuity Fund

Obligations/Available Appropriations (%)

Source of basic data: National Expenditure Program, FYs 2013, 2014 and 2015.

4.5

Budgetary adjustment refers to transfer of amounts to OMB from

lump-sum funds such as Personnel Benefits Fund, and Pension and
Gratuity Fund. Interestingly, no amount was transferred from the
Pension and Gratuity Fund in the years 2012 and 2013.

4.6

Unobligated Allotment pertains to the amount of appropriation

which has been released by DBM but has not been utilized by the
agency during the same fiscal year.
In 2011 and 2012, the
unobligated portion of the OMB budget amounted to P627.4 million
and P263.5 million, respectively. Note that the same amounts were
carried forward in the succeeding fiscal year (2012 and 2013).

4 During the budget deliberation of the Judiciary, officials were advised to submit
the specific number of positions that will be funded out of the MPBF allocation.
House Committee on Appropriations, 16 August 2011
7

4.7

The OMB's budget utilization rate in 2011 was 67.3%, 2012 at

87.1% and 2013 at 83.3%, respectively, or an average of 79.2%.
Budget utilization is calculated by dividing total obligations with
available appropriations.

V. RESULTS
5.1

OF

COA AUDIT

Acting as external auditor, the COA renders an opinion which may

either be unqualified, qualified, adverse, or disclaimer5 of opinion.
TABLE 8
COA AUDIT OPINIONS
Year

Audit Opinion

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Source: COA Annual Audit Reports, 2008-2012

5.2

As shown in Table 8, the OMB has never received an unqualified

opinion in the last five years.

5.3

The 2013 Annual Audit Report (AAR) of the Office of the

Ombudsman is still not available. Obviously, an untimely reporting
of financial transactions hinders the proper analysis of the proposed
budget. The COA reports could have been more meaningful/relevant
if they are released on time for the deliberation of the annual
budget. The AARs are two years late which seem so outdated if used
as reference/bases for the analysis of the different agencies

5 Unqualified opinion, often called a clean opinion, is the best type of report. It is
given when the auditor determines that
(a) each of the financial record
prepared by agency is free from any misrepresentation and (b) the financial records
have been maintained in accordance with generally-accepted accounting principles
(GAA). The auditor renders a qualified opinion in cases when financial records are
not kept in accordance with GAAP but no misrepresentations are identified. An
adverse opinion is the worst type of report; this indicates that the agencys
financial records do not conform to GAAP and gross misrepresentation is observed.
When an auditor is unable to complete an accurate evaluation of financial
transactions due to reasons like absence of appropriate financial records, the
auditor may issue a disclaimer opinion.
8

performance and eventual approval/disapproval of their budget

proposals.
5.4

Section 88 of the FY 2014 General Appropriations Act (RA 10633)

requires all government agencies, including SUCs, GOCCs and
LGUs to submit a report on their actions on the audit findings and
recommendations within sixty (60) days from receipt of the COA
Annual Audit Report. Copy of the status report should be submitted
to the DBM, the House Committee on Appropriations and the
Senate Committee on Finance.

REFERENCES:

Annual Audit Reports FY 2008-2012, Commission on Audit (COA).

Budget Comparison Tables for FY 2015 Proposed Budget, CPBRD, August 2014.
Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) FY 2015, DBM.
General Appropriations Act (GAA) FYs 2011, 2012 & 2013, DBM.
National Expenditure Program (NEP) FYs 2013, 2014 & 2015, DBM.
Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016. National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA).
The Presidents Budget Message FY 2013, 2014 & 2015, DBM.
www.ombudsman.gov.ph; www.coa.gov.ph