THE Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Monday submitted to the Office of the President the shortlist of its nominees for the position of Ombudsman, which was left vacant following the retirement of former Ombudsman Samuel Martires on July 27.
Under the JBC Rules, the President has 90 days or until October 24 to appoint the new Ombudsman from the occurrence of vacancy on July 27.
Included on its shortlist were former Commission on Audit chairman and incumbent Philippine Competition Commission Chairman Michael Aguinaldo; retired Court of Appeals Associate Justice and incumbent chairman of the Philippine Postal Corporation Stephen Cruz; incumbent Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan; incumbent deputy Executive Secretary Anna Liza Gonzalez Logan; retired SC Associate Justice Mario Lopez; incumbent Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Michael Frederick de Leon Musngi; and incumbent Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
The JBC came up with the shortlist during its final deliberation on the 17 individuals who applied and qualified for the position.
The shortlist serves as President Marcos’ basis for the exercise of the presidential power of appointment.
The JBC is a constitutional body mandated to accept, screen and nominate appointments to the judiciary, Office of the Ombudsman and the Legal Education Board.
Remulla was included on the short after securing a clearance from the Ombudsman.
However, it was not clear whether the Ombudsman has already junked the motion for reconsideration filed by Sen. Imee Marcos in connection with the dismissal of her complaint against Remulla for graft, arbitrary detention, grave threats, false testimony, perjury, usurpation of authority or official functions and for violation of RA 7438 or An Act Defining Certain Rights of Person Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation As Well as the Duties of the Arresting, Detaining and Investigating Officers.
The complaint stemmed from the investigation in aid of legislation conducted by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations headed by Marcos in connection with the alleged ‘kidnapping’ and subsequent turn-over of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands last March.
The Office of the Ombudsman is also silent on its action in relation to the complaint filed last September 15 by Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte for eight counts of kidnapping under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC); eight counts of arbitrary detention under Article 124 of the RPC; qualified direct assault under Article 148 of the RPC; two count of expulsion under Article 127 of the RPC; and usurpation of judicial functions under Article 241 of the RPC; and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against Remulla and several other government officials also in connection with the former President’s arrest and turn-over to the ICC.
A separate graft and detention charges were also filed against Remulla by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio for the alleged warrantless arrest of his client Cassandra Li Ong, a representative of Lucky South 99, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) suspected of involvement in illegal activities, last August 2024.
Remulla claimed that the filing of these charges were part of a concerted effort to derail his bid for the Ombudsman post.