LGUs top ombudsman list of most corruption complaints

MANILA, Philippines — For the seventh consecutive year, local government units (LGUs) topped the list of government agencies with the highest number of corruption-related complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman.

A report released recently by the ombudsman’s Finance and Management Information Office (FMIO) showed that for 2017, a total of 3,189 complaints were filed against local officials, broken down as follows: 265 against those from provincial governments; 1,849 from cities and municipalities; 1,065 against those from barangays; 10 against unclassified LGU officials.

The 2017 figure is 12 percent higher than the 2,799 complaints filed against LGU officials in 2016.

Second in the FMIO’s 2017 list was the Philippine National Police (PNP) with 939 complaints filed against its officials and personnel.

The figure, however, was eight percent lower than the 1,022 cases filed against PNP officers and employees in 2016.

Third on the list was the Department of Education (310 complaints), followed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR, 184 complaints) and state universities and colleges (117 complaints).

Complaints filed before the ombudsman are criminal and/or administrative in nature.

The FMIO also reported that for 2017, the ombudsman filed a total of 2,477 cases before the Sandiganbayan, more than half or 1,457 of which are against LGU officials and employees.

The breakdown of the cases filed in 2017 against government officials before the Sandigabayan is as follows: LGUs (1,457); Metro La Union Water District, San Fernando, La Union (200); Department of Budget and Management (194); House of Representatives (141); Oroquieta Water District (98); Department of Finance (45); Department of Agriculture (44); Philippine National Construction Corp. (40); Philippine Sports Commission (39); Philippine Postal Corp. (19); Armed Forces of the Philippines (12); DENR (12); Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (12); Bureau of Fire Protection (11) and PNP (11).