2 Cebuanas in OmbudsVisayas post shortlist

CEBU, Philippines - Two Cebuanas are among the five nominees for the position of Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, as contained on the list released by the Judicial and Bar Council yesterday.

Carla Juris Narvios-Tanco and Geraldine Faith A. Econg joined Paul Elmer M. Clemente, Gilbert G. Kintanar, and Vicente L. Gengos, Jr. as prospective replacement of Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol, whose term ends tomorrow, August 20, 2014.

Narvios-Tanco is currently the acting director of the Ombudsman-Visayas’ Public Assistance and Corruption Office while Econg, a former Cebu City Regional Trial Court presiding judge, is currently a Supreme Court deputy clerk of court and judicial reform program administrator.

Econg told The FREEMAN that she learned of the news after she received a call from the JBC yesterday.

“The voting was conducted in the morning. I was called to submit my acceptance (of the nomination) until tomorrow (today),” she said.

JBC members were the ones who selected five out of nine candidates as official nominees from whom President Benigno Aquino III would pick Apostol’s successor.

Register of Deeds Acting Director Clemente, Commission on Audit Chief Executive Staff Kintanar, and Presidential Commission on Good Government Commissioner Gengos each got four votes from the JBC, while Econg and Narvios-Tanco earned two votes each.

President Benigno Aquino III would go over the names of the five nominees and pick the new Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas.

Apostol, the fourth Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, was appointed by the president on July 19, 2007 and assumed office on August 21, 2007.

He replaced Primo Miro, who succeeded Juan Hagad and Arturo Mojica.

Miro will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 tomorrow, could not be reappointed. —(FREEMAN)