Aside from local government units (LGUs), the Department of Education (DepEd) is one of the top agencies in the Visayas area to have the most number of employees named as respondents before the Office of the Ombudsman – Visayas for 2016.
According to the Central Records Management Office of the Visayas Ombudsman, the LGUs at the city or municipal level are the agencies with the most number of employees, who have been the subject of an Ombudsman complaint with 1,183 respondents; followed by the LGUs at the barangay level with 622 respondents; and LGUs at the province level with 114 respondents.
The Department of Education, which formulates, implements, and coordinates policies, in the areas of formal and non-formal basic education as well as supervises all elementary and secondary education institutions, ranked fourth with 70 employees named as respondents in an Ombudsman-Visayas complaint for last year.
State universities and colleges followed closely with 64 of its employees named as respondents while the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has 56 of its employees subjected to an Ombudsman complaint.
Rounding up the list of agencies with the most number of employees named as respondents are the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with 36 respondents, Philippine National Police (PNP) with 29 respondents, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) with 24 respondents, and Department of Agriculture (DA) with 19 respondents.
The total number of 2016 cases filed before the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman was 1,165, with 536 of these cases covering criminal complaints, 604 cases covering administrative complaints, and 25 were for forfeiture cases.
According to the Visayas Ombudsman’s list, the most common violations for 2016 are failure of an accountable officer to render account with 177 cases docketed, followed by violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act with 147 cases, and malversation of public funds with 123 cases.
At the national level, local government officials and the members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) topped the list of agencies with most number of cases filed with the Office of the Ombudsman.