Friday, April 20, 2012

Vacant Position for Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon

By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), chaired by Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, has shortlisted four names for the position of Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon, which shall be submitted to President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III. 

The JBC recently set the public interview with the applicants for the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon position on March 28, 2012 after it was vacated by Francis Jardeleza because of his promotion as Solicitor General.

After the JBC en banc deliberations on Friday, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Commissioner Gerard Mosquera got the highest number of votes with seven.

Mosquera was a graduate of the Ateneo College of Law and belongs to the Utopia Fraternity and has worked before at the Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) during the time of Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo.

Coming in second is Ombudsman Graft Investigator Roque Dator, who is currently assigned at the Ombudsman Field Investigation Office.

Dator got six votes from the JBC.

Among those who were shortlisted, Dator is the only insider who is working at the Ombudsman at present.

He was a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) College of Law and was a former seminarian.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Director Ferdinand Rafanan garnered five votes.

Rafanan is a known fiscalizer in the Comelec due to his anti-graft campaign. He was a former Comelec Law Director and a graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law.

Tied with Rafanan with five votes is Arthur Melchor Carandang, a consultant of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and has worked before with Marcelo during his time as Ombudsman.

The position of Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon has a fixed term of seven years under the 1987 Philippine Constitution being covered by an independent constitutional body.

Others who vied for the position were Marifi Chua, Marivic Balisi-Umali, Geraldine Faith Econg and Victorio Mario Dimagiba.

Other applicants were Ombudsman officials Diosdado Calonge, Jose De Jesus, Rudiger Falcis II and Raul Marifosque.

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