Despite his legal woes, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla, along with six other applicants, made it to the shortlist of nominees for the ombudsman post, which the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) submitted to Malacañang yesterday.
In a letter dated Oct. 6 and addressed to President Marcos, the JBC said that after council deliberation on the same date, it selected seven nominees qualified to replace former ombudsman Samuel Martires, whose term ended last July 27.
The letter was stamped as ‘received’ by the Office of Executive Secretary also on Oct. 6.
The letter, which the JBC uploaded on its website, showed that aside from Remulla, also nominated for ombudsman were former Commission on Audit chairman and incumbent Philippine Competition Commission chairman Michael Aguinaldo, Philippine Postal Corp. chairman Stephen Cruz, Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, Office of the President Deputy Executive Secretary for legal affairs Anna Liza Logan, retired SC associate justice Mario Lopez and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Michael Frederick Musngi.
Based on the letter, the JBC deliberation was presided over by acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen, with ex-officio members Sen. Francis Pangilinan and Rep. Gerville Luistro and regular members former SC associate justice Jose Mendoza, Integrated Bar of the Philippines representative Erlinda Uy, academe representative Nesauro Firme and private sector representative Jose Mejia casting their votes for the shortlist of nominees.
Remulla, an ex-officio member of the JBC as justice secretary, took ‘no part’ in the deliberation and voting.
Under the Constitution, an ombudsman must be appointed by the President from a shortlist of at least three nominees submitted by the JBC. An ombudsman shall serve for a term of seven years without reappointment.
The Constitution also provides that vacancy for the ombudsman post shall be filled within three months from its occurrence.
A total of 17 applicants for the ombudsman post were earlier interviewed by the JBC.
Remulla’s application was almost jeopardized by pending criminal complaints filed against him by presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos and acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte before the ombudsman.
The complaints, involving allegations of arbitrary detention, grave threats, graft, usurpation of judicial functions, perjury, among others, stemmed from the alleged illegal arrest and turnover of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
Senator Marcos’ complaint was earlier dismissed by the ombudsman, but she filed a motion for reconsideration. Thus, she senator insisted, the complaint is still considered pending.
Under Section 5, Rule 4 of the Revised Rules of the JBC, those applying for the positions of ombudsman or deputy ombudsman who have pending cases or complaints before the ombudsman must secure a clearance from the same body or else they will be disqualified ‘from being nominated for appointment’ by the President.
Remulla had earlier told reporters that he was able to secure a clearance from the ombudsman and submitted it to the JBC before the council’s final deliberation, which turned out to have been conducted yesterday.
Reporters covering the ombudsman’s office asked for the status of the complaints against Remulla, but there was no response from its Public Information and Media Relations Bureau.
‘I’ll still be reporting for work here [at the Department of Justice] for sure, tomorrow. Because we are still trying to finish many things. But let’s see how it goes. I think the shortlist was submitted already [to the President]. That is all I know,’ Remulla told reporters in a chance interview yesterday.
Meanwhile, citing an unnamed source, GMA News reported that Aguinaldo got the highest nod from the JBC with six votes, followed by Remulla, Logan and Gaerlan with five votes each and Cruz, Lopez and Musngi with four votes each. The STAR has yet to confirm this report.
The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent body created under the Constitution with the primary duty of investigating public officials and employees for any possible criminal and administrative offenses. It is also the lead body that files and prosecutes corruption-related cases against government officials before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.