BY ADRIAN STEWART CO and PRINCE GOLEZ
MANILA – Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Martires has been appointed as the new head of the Office of the Ombudsman, replacing Conchita Carpio-Morales who retired on Thursday.
It was on the same day President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he chose his schoolmate and fraternity brother in San Beda Law School’s Lex Talionis to lead the anti-graft body.
Duterte preferred Martires who he called “bright” and “strict” over two other candidates – Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval and private lawyer Felito Ramirez.
“I signed the appointment of Justice Martires [as Ombudsman]. Karon lang nako i-announce diri,” Duterte said in his speech in Zamboanga Sibugay on Thursday afternoon. “He was strict in the Sandiganbayan, but he is bright and he is a fair man.”
During his interview with the Judicial and Bar Council, Martires said he does not have close ties with the first family.
Martires is the first Duterte appointee at the SC.
As a judge, Martires dismissed the corruption charge against Duterte – who was then mayor of Davao City – involving a city project.
Since he was appointed at the SC on March 2, 2017, Martires voted in favor of a number of high profile cases – including the martial law in Mindanao, the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima and ouster of former SC chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
At the Ombudsman, among the cases that will confront Martires are the graft case against presidential son Paolo Duterte and graft charges against former president and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The President advised Martires to “do what is right.”
Sen. Francis Pangilinan urged Martires to focus on prosecuting corrupt officials.
“We trust that the new Ombudsman will be at the helm of an honest-to-goodness anti-corruption office that will not condone abuses and corruption of public officials, both allies and critics of the administration,” Pangilinan said.
“We hope Ombudsman Martires will not be a tool of anyone, and will go after corrupt officials by building a strong case backed by evidence,” he added.
Citing his track reckord, Sen. Vicente Sotto III said he is confident Martires “will do well.”
“It’s perhaps the reason he has the trust and confidence of the President,” Sotto stressed.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson hopes Martires will “speed up the resolution of cases pending in the Ombudsman without fear or favor in its true and real sense.”
Sen. Francis Escudero, for his part, commended Duterte for appointing Martires.
“Justice Martires, I believe, is the best choice for Ombudsman. He is a man of integrity and principle and would certainly complement the government’s efforts in fighting corruption and bring the corrupt to justice,” Escudero said./PN
