The Office of the Ombudsman will receive ₱6.39 billion in 2026 under the National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacañang to Congress.
The proposed budget is higher than this year’s ₱5.87 billion allocation for the anti-graft court.
Of the ₱6.39 billion, ₱3.67 billion will go to Personnel Services; ₱2.20 billion will be allocated for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE); and ₱515.3 million will cover Capital Outlay.
The Ombudsman’s proposed budget for 2026 also includes ₱51.47 million in confidential funds, the same amount allocated this year.
Other items under the Ombudsman’s proposed budget include:
-₱816.9 million for fact-finding investigations and lifestyle checks to build cases against corrupt public officials
-₱445.8 million for prosecuting criminal and forfeiture cases filed against erring public officials with the Sandiganbayan and Regional Trial Courts
-₱164.8 million for adjudicating administrative cases against corrupt public officials to enforce anti-corruption laws
-₱149.2 million for providing responsive public assistance to reduce bureaucratic red tape
-₱106 million for Operation and Maintenance of the Computerized Management Information System
-₱99 million for the Aral and Asal Project under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the University of the Philippines System (UPS)
-₱58.5 million for conducting integrity assessments and corruption diagnostics to reduce government agencies’ vulnerability to corruption, inefficiency, and red tape
-₱53.3 million for preliminary investigations of criminal and forfeiture cases against erring public officials
-₱44.3 million for developing and implementing integrity promotion programs to strengthen anti-corruption advocacy
-₱20.3 million for advocating Ombudsman cases appealed to the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, including filing special civil actions with the Supreme Court
The Whistleblowers Reward, however, is only allocated ₱10 million.
Under the Ombudsman law, the Ombudsman and its Deputies serve as protectors of the people and must act promptly on complaints against government officials, enforcing administrative, civil, and criminal liability where evidence warrants to ensure efficient government service.
The Ombudsman was previously headed by former Supreme Court justice Samuel Martires from August 2018 to July 2025.
Following the expiration of Martires’ seven-year term last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Special Prosecutor and former Court of Appeals presiding justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo as acting Ombudsman.
