Bello dropped from JBC list

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III was not on the final Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) shortlist of candidates for the Ombudsman post which was topped by Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Martires.

President Duterte will choose among the names on the shortlist for the replacement of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales who retires this month.

The JBC list included Martires, Ombudsman Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval and lawyer Felito Ramirez.

Martires got all six votes from the JBC while Sandoval and Ramirez had five and four votes, respectively.

The JBC did not explain the dropping of Bello, who was included in the original shortlist.

Bello’s disqualification came after an advocacy group sought the Labor secretary’s resignation over his alleged involvement in an extortion attempt.

Bello denied the allegation and dismissed it as part of a smear campaign.

Earlier, 11 Supreme Court (SC) justices had endorsed Martires to the JBC. Martires was the first appointee of Mr. Duterte in the High Court.

The 69-year-old Martires served as trial court judge in Agoo, La Union prior to his appointment to the Sandiganbayan on Oct. 15, 2005 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Martires was among Sandiganbayan justices who handed down the decision approving the plea bargain deal entered into by retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and the Office of the Ombudsman.

In 2011, Martires also wrote the Sandiganbayan decision that junked graft charges against then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte over the demolition of a park built by his political rival.

He was also among the SC justices who voted to grant the Office of the Solicitor General’s ouster case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Sandoval, meanwhile, was a presiding judge at the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan before he was appointed to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). He was appointed to the OSP in July last year and has been overseeing various cases filed at the Sandiganbayan.

During his interview before the JBC, he said the conviction rate has increased since he joined the Office of the Ombudsman in July 2017.

“We have increased the rate of conviction. I conducted seminars of newly appointed assistant special prosecutors to hone their skills in the successful prosecution of cases,” Sandoval said during an interview.

“We told them to have a good, direct cross-examination and from January 2018 up to May, we have consistently increased the rate of conviction,” he added

Ramirez, on the other hand, is a member of the Lex Talionis Fraternitas.

He earlier had said he applied for the position of Ombudsman due to the prodding of his friends who told him that “some people will be endorsing.”

Ramirez narrated it was only a coincidence that many aspirants for the position of Ombudsman are from San Beda College of Law, saying he cannot apply for another judicial position because he is already past retirement age.

Asked what sets him apart from the other aspirants, he said he has handled many cases before the Court of Appeals and the Ombudsman.

“I am prepared to handle this position,” he said.

Mr. Duterte has 90 days to choose who will take over the Ombudsman post.

Morales is set to retire on July 26 after reaching retirement age of 76 after serving for seven years as Ombudsman.

Morales was instrumental in the indictment of former Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and other personalities involved in the pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by trader Janet Lim Napoles.

Earlier, Morales had said the case of the second batch of officials who were implicated in the P10-billion pork barrel fund scam will land in the hands of the next Ombudsman.

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