MANILA, Philippines — To strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman in fulfilling its constitutional mandate to fight corruption, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson has filed a bill creating a law enforcement service that would empower it to effect arrests and detention, searches and seizures in accordance with the law - and said he is prepared to expedite its passage.
Lacson said this is one of the ways to show his "appreciation and sympathy" for the Office of the Ombudsman after seeing the challenges it faces in probing various cases involving flood control, reclamation and other infrastructure projects.
"The bill I filed gives the Ombudsman its own law enforcement arm focusing on graft and corruption cases under the mandate of the Ombudsman, to show my support for their work. With the law enforcement arm, it can apply for search warrants and serve arrest warrants to make its job easier," Lacson said in an interview late Monday.
Lacson said that the Ombudsman currently relies on law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to assist in serving warrants and carrying out other law enforcement functions.
"The Ombudsman needs its own law enforcement arm. It currently relies on help from the PNP and NBI," he said.
