THE Office of the Ombudsman has reported a case survival rate of 98.95 percent for the first nine months of 2024 compared to 59.46 percent for the same period in 2023.
Based on the Quarterly Physical Report of Operation (QPRO) ending September 30, 2024, the Ombudsman listed 190 pending cases that were subjected by defendants to challenges on the sufficiency of evidence wherein only two were dismissed by the courts on the said grounds.
Over the same nine-month period last year, the Ombudsman saw 30 cases out of 74 thrown out on deficiency of evidence.
However, the conviction rate declined year on year with government prosecutors scoring conviction of at least one accused in 206 cases out of 364 that were resolved or 56.59 percent.
The lowest conviction rate was posted in the first three months of 2024 with only 43 convictions in 126 cases. The number improved to 108 convictions in 158 cases in the second quarter (68.35 percent) and 55 convictions in 80 cases in the third quarter (68.75 percent).
Last year, the Ombudsman posted a 78.89 percent conviction rate in the first three quarters of 2023.
The QPRO did not provide a breakdown of the number of cases decided by the Sandiganbayan and those ruled upon by the local courts.
Cases against high-ranking public officials and those involving injury to the government amounting to P1 million or higher are filed and prosecuted before the Sandiganbayan.
However, cases that do not involve bribery or damage to the government worth P1 million or higher end up with the regional trial courts.
