Panlilio pushes for advocacy lawyer as next Ombudsman

The Judicial and Bar Council has not yet opened the application period for those aspiring to be the next Ombudsman, but on Thursday, it received the first nomination for the post. Former Pampanga Gov. Eduardo "Among Ed" Panlilio sent the JBC a letter nominating advocacy lawyer Ernesto Francisco to the seat to be vacated by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. In a text message, Francisco said he is accepting the nomination. "Yes, I will," the lawyer said. The JBC is the constitutional body that vets, screens, and recommends to the President appointees to the judiciary and appointees to the position of Ombudsman and deputy Ombudsman. Last Tuesday, the council received Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.'s letter informing the JBC that President Benigno Aquino III has accepted Gutierrez's resignation. However, the JBC cannot yet announce that it is opening the application and screening period because Gutierrez's resignation will take effect on Friday, May 6. For his part, Supreme Court spokesman and JBC consultant Jose Midas Marquez said the council will still determine if it will accept Panlilio's letter, which was sent before the JBC opened the application process. "The JBC will have to decide on that when it meets," he said in a text message. Panlilio backs Francisco In his letter, Panlilio vouched for Francisco's "dedication and courage" that make him eligible as the next Ombudsman. "He is not a member of any political or non-political organization which might compromise future decisions, should he be appointed as the next Ombudsman," Panlilio said. "I have confidence in his competence, integrity, dedication, fairness, and passion to serve, the same virtues which I believe are the foremost qualifications of the next holder of the Office of the Ombudsman," the priest-on-leave and former Pampanga governor added. Francisco is among the petitioners who asked the Supreme Court to block the increase of toll fees in the country's expressways. However, the SC in October last year lifted the temporary restraining order and allowed the increase in toll rates. Francisco has also asked the high court to include former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and former Cabinet officials in the list of respondents in connection with the allegedly anomalous multimillion broadband deal the Arroyo administration entered — and later aborted — with Chinese firm ZTE Corp. Panlilio's letter also said that Francisco "has filed for the impeachment of then Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and assailed the unconstitutional impeachment case filed against then Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr." — RSJ/KBK, GMA News