Statement of Ombudsman Boying Remulla over Alleged ‘New Hires’ in his Office
Ombudsman Boying Remulla slammed the alleged huge salary for new lawyers in his office which range between salary grades 26 and 27.
Following the retirement of former Ombudsman Samuel Martires in July, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently appointed the country’s new chief graft-buster. The Judiciary and Bar Council, more popularly called the JBC, submitted a shortlist of seven (7) applicants for Ombudsman to the President.
Remulla was the chief of the Department of Justice when Marcos Jr. appointed him to his current position. Prior to it, he expressed his confidence that the justice department will be in good hands if he will be chosen to be the country’s chief graft-buster. The President has yet to appoint a new Justice secretary.
Ombudsman Remulla restored the public access on the government officials’ SALN or Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. During Martires’ term, the consent of the SALN owner was required upon the request due to a circular that was implemented.
The Office of the Ombudsman is the repository of the SALNs of the president, the vice president, the Constitutional commission officers, and the local government officials. In his decision to reverse the order that puts restrictions on public access to the SALN, the Ombudsman embedded the principle stated in the Constitution that “public office is a public trust”.
Recently, Ombudsman Remulla also spoke about the alleged new hires in his new office. According to him, it caught his attention that some new lawyers in the Ombudsman’s office allegedly receives salary grades of either 26 or 27 monthly. He stressed that it is already “director-level”.
“Sometimes it’s bad for morale when people just starting out get in with a salary grade of 26 or 27. That’s already director-level,” the Ombudsman said.
Based on a report on PhilStar, here are the salaries for salary grades 25, 26, and 27 under the National Budget Circular 59:
- Salary Grade 25- P111,727 to P124,591 monthly
- Salary Grade 26- P126,252 to P140,788 monthly
- Salary Grade 27- P142,663 to P158,723 monthly
Based on the report, Ombudsman Remulla believes that a salary grade of 26 or 27 for people who were just hired is allegedly “bad for the morale” of the personnel who have served the institution for a long time already and are more qualified.
Amid the flood control mess in the Philippines, Ombudsman Remulla claimed that a former congressman of Quezon City is allegedly ready to make a “tell-all”.