Morales urges Martires to stand vs. corruption

FILE: Retired Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales (Photo: ombudsman.gov.ph)

MANILA — Retired Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Friday urged newly-appointed anti-graft body head Samuel Martires to stand against corruption, pursuant to the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsman.

In her farewell speech, Morales left a message to Martires, as well as to government officials to remain loyal to their duty and integrity.

For Morales, a strong institution is needed to fully eradicate corruption.

“I expect people, whoever will succeed me, to tow the line in the sense that (he) should work hard, work efficiently, with integrity and accountability,” she said.

“To the people of the government, I’d like to remind them again that public office is public trust. You should deserve the trust of the people; you should deserve the respect (of people); should not fail them, not abuse power. In other words, I expect you to be a model of integrity,” Morales added.

Data from the Ombudsman showed that they have resolved more than 13,000 cases under Morales’ watch.

From more than 19,000 pending cases in 2011 when Morales assumed as Ombudsman, the number of cases resolved decreased to more than 6,000 only at the end of 2017.

During his visit, Martires, a former Supreme Court Associate Justice, greeted and met with the employees of the Office of the Ombudsman.

One of the directives of Martires was that no case would be filed before the Sandiganbayan for as long as he has not formally assumed the post.

Martires thanked God for his appointment to the new post.

He also expressed his gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for the trust, appointing him as next Ombudsman.

Martires warned the agency’s employees that he does not want to work with “hypocrites.”