Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has singled out waste management as a breeding ground for graft among local officials, claiming that garbage collection has become the most lucrative venture for mayors nationwide.
Speaking on his radio program Saturday, Remulla said the trade in refuse services was tainted almost across the board. “The biggest business of all mayors in the Philippines. All of them, no exception. Maybe only in Pasig is it clean,” he said, according to Abante, which reported his remarks in the vernacular.
He offered no names, contracts, or specific investigations to back the sweeping claim. The Ombudsman also did not provide additional details on the statement, Abante noted.
Remulla extended his criticism to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, faulting the agency over what he described as failures in waste management, land titling, and illegal reclamation.
The Ombudsman tied the observation to his push to revive the Resident Ombudsman Program, which embeds investigators within government agencies to act as watchdogs and speed up fact-finding. The program was reactivated within the first 100 days of his term, his office said in January, as part of a broader effort to bring accountability closer to the ground.
Remulla, a former justice secretary under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., assumed the post of seventh Ombudsman in October 2025 for a seven-year term. His tenure has centered on high-impact cases, including graft and malversation charges tied to anomalous flood control projects nationwide.
His latest comments come amid a wider campaign against conflicts of interest in public office. GMA News reported that his agency is investigating at least two lawmakers over alleged ties to construction firms while serving in Congress, alongside at least eight so-called “congtractors” linked to the flood control controversy.
