{
  "id": 19792424,
  "title": "Ombudsman plans investment office to curb bribery, eliminate fixers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/ombudsman-plans-investment-office-to-curb-bribery-eliminate-fixers",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-13T09:53:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Philippine Star Business",
    "slug": "philippine-star-business",
    "url": "https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/11/13/2569917/ombudsman-plans-investment-office-curb-bribery-eliminate-fixers"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Office of the Ombudsman in the Philippines is creating an investment office aimed at combating bribery and preventing the influence of \"fixers\" in the business sector, according to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin \"Boying\" Remulla. The new permanent department will be developed in collaboration with Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other sectoral associations. This initiative is part of the Ombudsman's main strategy to improve ease of doing business in the country. The Ombudsman plans to hold a regulatory summit in January to review overlapping rules and streamline the business process. Remulla emphasized the critical need to address these issues ahead of the anticipated \"Super El Niño\" weather phenomenon, which is expected to persist into mid-2027 and may test various sectors such as water, power, agriculture, and emergency procurement. The timing is deemed urgent due to the potential for rule violations and financial mismanagement during crises. Additionally, Remulla announced stricter lifestyle checks for Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs officials, following reports of some bribes being significantly higher than the actual required fees. Both bureaus have new leadership following a recent cabinet reshuffle, with Ariel Nepomuceno becoming the president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Charlie Mendoza heading the Bureau of Customs, and Finance Undersecretary Rolando Ligon Jr. leading the Bureau of Internal Revenue.",
  "summary": "The department will be developed based on the input of sectoral associations and complement regulatory summits seeking to simplify the business process.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}