The process for selecting the next Ombudsman has become a controversial one, as two strong candidates face disqualification due to a technicality.

The candidates for the post have until the end of the deliberation period of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on 6 October to submit their clearances for pending cases against them.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Chairperson Felix Reyes were “given until the day of the final deliberation to submit a clearance.”

If they cannot provide a clearance, they will not be included in the shortlist of nominees from which President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will choose.

Many had wondered why the Office of the Ombudsman was taking so long to decide on their pending cases.

Meanwhile, the independent group 1Sambayan, led by former Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, voiced concern over politically motivated complaints influencing the shortlist.

Included in the shortlist is University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Darlene Berberabe, who was earlier appointed by Marcos as Solicitor General, replacing Menardo Guevarra.

Berberabe applied for the Ombudsman position ahead of the Palace appointment.

Aside from Berberabe, the list includes SC Court Administrator Raul Villanueva and several justices from the Court of Appeals (CA), Sandiganbayan, and the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

Also on the list are CA Justices Fernanda Peralta (1st Division chairperson), Ramon Bato Jr. (2nd Division chairperson), Nina Antonio-Valenzuela (8th Division chairperson), Myra Garcia-Fernandez (6th Division chairperson), Ma. Elisa Diy (11th Division chairperson), Ramon Cruz (5th Division chairperson), Ronaldo Roberto Martin (16th Division member), and Walter Ong (6th Division senior member).

Also on the list are Justice Karl Miranda (Sandiganbayan 3rd Division chairperson) and CTA 2nd Division member Maria Rowena Modesto-San Pedro.

Reyes, a retired Regional Trial Court judge, had yet to submit an Ombudsman clearance to the JBC, but he was interviewed by the body on 2 September, the same day as Remulla.

He was cited in an administrative complaint filed by some members of the Camarines Sur provincial council on 25 February against PCSO General Manager Mel Robles and PCSO board members, which included him.

CamSur rap unresolved

The complaint pertained to a small-town lottery (STL) operator in CamSur, who, according to the complainants, has committed various infractions yet was still granted a renewal by the PCSO.

The complainants claimed that the PCSO failed to address violations by the STL operator, who was accused of not remitting revenue shares to the local government.

The complainants did not attribute a specific act to Reyes, noting that as chairperson, he was not involved in the PCSO’s day-to-day operations.

On 4 August, Reyes filed an ex-parte motion asking then acting Ombudsman Justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo to dismiss him from the complaint.

Punzalan-Castillo, however, was replaced by Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Dante F. Vargas on 27 August, also in an acting capacity.

On 8 September, Reyes submitted a motion for the early resolution of both the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office case and the ex-parte motion.

So far, the Ombudsman has yet to issue a resolution on the PCSO case and has not acted on Reyes’s two pending motions.

1Sambayan recently issued a statement expressing its deep concern about what it perceives to be “a politically motivated effort to influence the Judicial and Bar Council in its selection of the next Ombudsman.”

It stated explicitly that the recent filing of cases against Remulla, particularly given his reported interest in the Ombudsman position, was problematic.

The JBC’s role is to vet and recommend candidates based on their qualifications, experience, and ethical standing, free from political pressure or manipulation.

Allowing politically motivated legal challenges to influence this process would be a disservice to the Constitution and the Filipino people.

Isambayan said the JBC must resolutely uphold its independence and resist any attempts to politicize the selection process; it must evaluate all candidates for Ombudsman based on their merits and qualifications.

In a recent development, an anonymous letter, purportedly from a member of the Ombudsman Employees Association, was circulated within government offices alleging that there have been drastic shifts in the office’s internal processes, specifically in how the records division processes and encodes case statuses; that there are more important cases that are pending which should be prioritized over those which are politically motivated.

The Office of the Ombudsman, a constitutionally independent body, is mandated to act promptly on complaints against public officials, particularly those among the JBC nominees for a key position that oversees integrity in government.