JUSTICE ROBERTO ABAD: THE OMBUDSMAN’S AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF FORFEITURE CASES INVOLVING ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH

 In Alfredo Romualdez vs. Sandiganbayan, the Supreme Court citing Republic vs. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 90529, August 16, 1991, 200 SCRA 667, 682-683 clarified that the Ombudsman has under its general investigatory powers the authority to investigate forfeiture cases where the alleged ill-gotten wealth had been amassed before February 25, 1986.  Thus:

“While we do not discount the authority of the Ombudsman, we believe and so hold that the exercise of his correlative powers to both investigate and initiate the proper action for the recovery of ill-gotten and/or unexplained wealth is restricted only to cases for the recovery of ill-gotten and/or unexplained wealth which were amassed after February 25, 1986.

Prior to said date, the Ombudsman is without authority to initiate such forfeiture proceedings. We, however, uphold his authority to investigate cases for the forfeiture or recovery of such ill-gotten and/or unexplained wealth amassed even before the aforementioned date, pursuant to his general investigatory power under Section 15(1) of Republic Act No. 6770” (Republic v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 90529, August 16, 1991, 200 SCRA 667, 682-683).

 Be that as it may, in the same case, the High Court observed that although it was the Ombudsman who conducted the preliminary investigation, it was the OSG that instituted the action in Civil Case 0167 in line with the Court’s ruling in the above-cited Republic and other cases that followed (ALFREDO T. ROMUALDEZ vs. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 16160, July 13, 2010, ABAD, J.).