Ombudsman aspirant Diokno responds to critics questioning his 'independence'

Human rights laywer Jose Manuel Diokno, one of the 27 aspirants to the position of Ombudsman, has responded to the allegations of a party-list group that he lacked "independence." In a statement emailed to GMA News Online on Tuesday, Diokno said about the ANAD party-list group: "They claim that I lack independence, but are they really looking for an independent Ombudsman, or an Ombudsman that they can depend on?" Diokno added that if President Benigno Aquino III picks him as the next Ombudsman, he will consider it his "primal duty" to protect the sacred trust of "bringing honesty back to public service." ANAD party-list Rep. Pastor Alcover earlier said his group has filed with the Judicial and Bar Council its opposition to Diokno's bid for the position left by former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez last month. Alcover said Diokno may be biased against uniformed officers because he handled clients who were "communist suspects." However, Diokno, in his statement, only said he is certain that the President's choice would be different from the previous ombudsmen who were perceived to be beholden to the appointing authority. "We have had too many 'dependable' ombudsmen in the past. They could be depended on to carry out the President's orders, no matter what. I'm confident that President Aquino will choose an ombudsman who is truly independent, has no political agenda, and reveres no sacred cows," said Diokno, dean of the De La Salle University College of Law and the concurrent national chair of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG). Diokno, on the other hand, was FLAG's lead counsel who handled the writ of amparo plea of Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, the siblings who were allegedly abducted and tortured by the military on suspicion they were communist rebels. The writ is an extraordinary judicial measure meant to safeguard human rights. In a landmark decision in October 2008, the Supreme Court issued the writ for the first time after finding substantial evidence that the right to security of the brothers was violated. - VVP, GMA News