MANILA— Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla highlighted reforms to improve transparency and strengthen corruption investigations during his first year in office, including granting more public access to officials’ Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) and providing specialized training for investigators.

In his first anniversary address during the flag-raising ceremony at the Office of the Ombudsman, Remulla said the initiatives aimed to improve public accountability, investigative capabilities, and the quality of cases filed against government officials.

“One of my first acts as Ombudsman was to tear down the barriers to the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth of public officials,” Remulla said.

“For years, the public was told to ask the official’s permission before seeing what that official owned. We ended that,” he added.

Remulla reported that the office had granted at least 1,655 SALN requests, with sensitive personal information redacted in accordance with the Data Privacy Act.

He stressed that public access to government officials’ financial disclosures was essential to transparency and accountability.

“Ang yaman ng isang lingkod-bayan ay hindi pribadong usapin. Kapag pera ng bayan ang pinag-uusapan, may karapatan ang bayan na malaman,” he said.

Remulla also urged government agencies to embrace transparency and digitization, warning that officials who unjustifiably obstruct these initiatives could be held accountable.

“Kaya kailangan masanay ang gobyerno sa kultura ng transparency. Hindi ito pabor na hinihingi natin sa gobyerno. Karapatan ito ng bawat Pilipino,” he said.

To strengthen the office’s investigative capacity, Remulla said 60 investigators had completed the Field Investigation Course, which covers financial investigations, digital evidence gathering, government project inspections, and witness protection.

The program also trains investigators to trace money across bank accounts and corporations, document irregularities in government projects, and organize evidence into cases that can withstand legal challenges.

Additional batches of investigators are expected to undergo the training as part of the office’s continuing professional development efforts.

Remulla said stronger investigative capabilities were necessary to pursue complex corruption cases involving influential individuals and sophisticated financial schemes.

“Because the people we are going after have the best lawyers money can buy, and the only answer to that is a case so complete that no lawyer can break it,” he said.

He also directed personnel overseeing institutional reforms to take a more proactive approach to preventing corruption by bringing integrity programs to government agencies.

“To those who lead our reforms and programs: do not wait for corruption to happen. Take prevention to every agency. Make integrity something every public servant knows, and something every citizen expects,” he said.

Remulla credited the office’s investigators, prosecutors, lawyers, and support personnel for the reforms achieved during his first year, emphasizing that the progress resulted from their collective efforts.

“None of it happened because of one man. It happened because the lawyers, investigators, prosecutors and staff of this Office chose to work harder, faster and cleaner than anyone expected of them,” he said.

“We have finished our first year. But we are only getting started,” Remulla concluded.