08/10/2025
WHAT DID MARTIRES DO? WHY ARE PEOPLE SO CRITICAL OF HIM?
If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard a lot about Ombudsman Samuel Martires and how he’s supposedly protecting former President Duterte and his allies.
But what’s the real story?
Ano ba talaga ang ginawa ni Martires, at bakit siya pinag-iinitan ng marami?
Let’s break it down in a way that’s easy to understand.
LONG-TIME CONNECTION WITH DUTERTE
Martires isn’t just any official—he’s been connected to Duterte for a long time.
Back in 2011, when Duterte was still mayor of Davao City, Martires was the judge who dismissed a graft case against him.
That’s like having a referee who’s been friends with one of the players even before the big game.
In 2017, Duterte picked Martires as his very first appointee to the Supreme Court.
Not long after, in 2018, Duterte made him the Ombudsman—the top government official in charge of investigating corruption.
Para bang “barkadahan” ang dating, kaya maraming tao ang nagdududa kung magiging patas siya.
BLOCKING TRANSPARENCY: HIDING SALNS
One of Martires’ most controversial moves was making it super hard for the public to see the SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth) of government officials—including Duterte’s.
The SALN is important because it shows if a public official is getting rich while in office, which could be a sign of corruption.
Martires made a rule: you can only see an official’s SALN if you get their written permission.
So if a corrupt official doesn’t want you to see their SALN, you’re out of luck.
For the first time in 30 years, the president’s SALN wasn’t released to the public.
Ang daming nagalit—parang tinakpan ang bintana para hindi makita ng tao ang nangyayari sa loob.
STOPPING LIFESTYLE CHECKS
Lifestyle checks are investigations to see if a government official’s wealth matches their salary.
If someone is living like a millionaire on a government salary, that’s suspicious!
But Martires stopped these checks, saying the law wasn’t clear enough.
Critics say this just made it easier for corrupt officials to hide their wealth.
LIMITING ACCESS TO AUDIT REPORTS
The Commission on Audit (COA) checks how government money is spent.
Martires wanted to stop the public from seeing COA reports until they’re “final,” which could take a long time.
People said this could let corrupt officials get away with stealing money before anyone finds out.
HIS OWN WEALTH GREW FAST
After becoming Ombudsman, Martires’ own net worth jumped by about 15 million pesos in just five months.
When reporters asked about it, he got angry and threatened to sue them.
Instead of explaining, he tried to silence the media.
WEAK ACTION ON DRUG WAR KILLINGS
During Duterte’s “war on drugs,” thousands of people were killed—human rights groups say up to 30,000.
But under Martires, the Ombudsman’s office barely investigated these cases.
Only a few police officers were convicted, and most cases were ignored or dismissed because there were no witnesses willing to testify.
Many people were too scared to come forward, and there was no strong witness protection program.
Para sa maraming tao, parang walang nangyari—walang hustisya para sa mga biktima.
DROPPING OR DELAYING CORRUPTION CASES
Martires admitted that thousands of corruption cases are still pending in his office, and many have been dismissed because investigations took too long.
Some cases were even missing records!
He also said some of his own employees are corrupt, but he couldn’t prove it.
ONGOING PROTECTION FOR THE DUTERTE FAMILY
Even now, Martires seems to protect Duterte’s family.
For example, when Vice President Sara Duterte was accused of misusing confidential funds, Martires said his office would wait for impeachment proceedings before investigating her.
This just delays accountability.
FEAR FACTOR
A lot of people are scared to file cases or testify against powerful officials.
Lawmakers and even the Department of Justice have said that many witnesses are intimidated or afraid for their lives.
Without witnesses, cases get dismissed, and justice is not served.
REAL NUMBERS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Officially, the government says about 6,000 people died in the drug war, but human rights groups say the real number is much higher—up to 30,000.
Martires never really addressed this huge difference or pushed for more investigations.
SO, WHY ARE PEOPLE MAD AT MARTIRES?
To sum it up: people are angry at Martires because he made it harder for the public to see if officials are corrupt, stopped important investigations, and seemed to protect Duterte and his allies instead of holding them accountable.
Parang naging “bodyguard” siya ng mga powerful na tao, imbes na maging tagapagtanggol ng bayan.
For many Filipinos, the Ombudsman is supposed to be the “Tanod ng Bayan” (the people’s watchdog), but under Martires, it feels like he’s guarding the powerful instead of the people.
What do you think? Should the Ombudsman be more transparent and aggressive in fighting corruption, or is Martires just following the rules? Let’s talk about it!
Sources:
https://opinion.inquirer.net/133894/who-is-he-protecting
https://phkule.org/article/396/how-an-amended-saln-law-could-pose-a-major-threat-to-press-and-freedom-of-information/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Martires
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/757304/saln-lifestyle-checks-used-by-politicians-media-practitioners-for-extortion-martires/story/
https://www.ombudsman.gov.ph/statement-of-ombudsman-samuel-r-martires/
