Elizabeth Marcelo

It was a busy second half of the year for the Office of the Ombudsman following the flood of complaints, reports and referrals seeking an investigation into the multibillion-peso flood control scam – widely regarded as the biggest corruption scandal so far under the Marcos administration.

Ahead of the celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9, environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition yesterday appealed to devotees to make this year’s traslacion trash-free.

The Commission on Audit has flagged the Department of Tourism over questionable fund disbursements in 2024 totaling P48.832 million due to missing or insufficient supporting documents.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo expressed confidence the country’s courts are gearing toward more “efficient, accessible and responsive” operations this year as the innovation program that his leadership has launched for the judiciary is nearing completion.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday urged the public to remain vigilant over all branches of government, saying graft and corruption are rampant not only in the executive and legislative branches but also in the judiciary.

The Commission on Audit has called out the Department of Health over P405 million worth of medical equipment procured in 2024, which were left idle or unutilized due to inadequate planning, defective parts and lack of trained personnel that can operate them.

The Commission on Audit has called out the Commission on Higher Education over P20.171 billion in Tertiary Education Subsidy grants that remained unliquidated by various higher education institutions for several years.

The Sandiganbayan has sentenced five former ranking officials of the Philippine National Police to up to 40 years of imprisonment for graft in connection with the fictitious or “ghost” repair and procurement of spare parts for the PNP’s armored vehicles from 2007 to 2008.

The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the graft case against former Department of Agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala in connection with the alleged monopolization of garlic importation and supply, which caused a spike in prices in the market in 2014.

The Department of Justice has denied a rumor circulating on social media that former Department of Public Works and Highways Bulacan First District Engineering Office engineer Henry Alcantara has recanted his testimony about the flood control scam.