Amendment of Forfeiture Law(House Bill No. 582)

December 4, 2021

An Act Amending Section 6 of Republic Act No. 1379, otherwise known as “An Act Declaring Forfeiture in Favor of the State Any Property Found to have been Unlawfully Acquired by Any Public Officer or Employee and Providing for the Proceedings Therefor” and for Other Purposes

The 1987 Constitution has established the Ombudsman as a watchdog that policed the government as a whole and had the power to decide and pursue the prosecution of civil servants. Yet, while our Constitution recognizes the importance of the Ombudsman, the upsetting reality is that this vital institution has long been underfunded.

To address this problem, this bill seeks to provide additional funding to the Office of the Ombudsman by giving it a 30% share of all government forfeited properties (that is, recovered assets not in cash) pursuant to Republic Act No. 1379. As the premier state anti-graft agency handling more than 10,000 cases a year, it is a must that the Office of the Ombudsman has adequate sources of funding, without relying so much on an already overstretched national budget.

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