Samuel Martires leads JBC shortlist for next ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines — Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Samuel Martires leads the shortlist of candidates for the Ombudsman post. 

A source in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) yesterday revealed that Martires obtained six votes from seven of the council members, while retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Edilberto Sandoval got five votes, followed by lawyer Felito Ramirez with four.

Martires and Ramirez are graduates of San Beda College, the alma mater of President Duterte. Sandoval studied at Far Eastern University (FEU).

Ramirez is a fraternity brother of Duterte in Lex Talionis.

Martires was the first appointee of Duterte to the SC. Prior to being a magistrate of the SC, he was an associate justice of the Sandiganbayan and served as a regional trial court judge in Agoo, La Union.

Sandoval, on the other hand is a retired Sandiganbayan presiding justice. An expert in criminal law, he was a professor, author and a bar reviewer. He is currently a special prosecutor.

The 77-year-old Sandoval was born on June 20, 1941. He obtained his Associate in Arts degree (with high honors) and Bachelor of Laws (valedictorian) from FEU. Sandoval also took a post-graduate training course at Harvard Law School in June 2006.

The President has 90 days to appoint the next ombudsman, replacing Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales whose term ends on July 26.

Aside from Martires, Sandoval and Ramirez, the other candidates for ombudsman but did not make it to the shortlist were Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello; Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz; Davao Judge Carlos Espero II and lawyers Edna Herrera-Batacan, Duterte’s former attorney; Rainier Madrid, former Davao City vice mayor and presidential son Paolo Duterte’s ex-counsel; Rey Nathaniel Ifurung, and Rex Rico.

As to reports that Bello was disqualified from the shortlist reportedly because of a pending syndicated estafa case before the Department of Justice, Secretary Menardo Guevarra, ex-officio member of JBC, confirmed the charge.  

“Too bad these cases have remained unresolved. I was informed about (it) only this morning… Let us not go into the details. It’s enough to say that the pendency of these criminal cases (under preliminary investigation) directly caused Bello’s disqualification,” said Guevarra.