SC recommends Martires for ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 1:22 p.m.) — The Supreme Court has unanimously recommended Associate Justice Samuel Martires as the next ombudsman.

This was confirmed by SC Public Information Office chief Theodore Te on Tuesday afternoon.

Martires, appointed in March 2017, is the first Duterte appointment to the SC. He replaced Associate Justice Jose Perez, who retired in December 2016.

Martires was previously an associate justice of the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court before being appointed to the Supreme Court.

During his interview for the SC post, Martires disclosed that he initially wanted to apply for the post of ombudsman.

Meanwhile, Martires' application to the ombudsman post is facing opposition from a group of priests, pastors and theological teachers. They pointed out that Martires’ questions to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno that linked her faith to “mental illness” shows his “lack of respect to faith-based communities” and his “lack of probity.”

He denied the allegation, saying he never meant to 'faith-shame' her.

Martires is due for retirement from the SC in January 2019.

Te said that Martires obtained 11 votes from the 12 justices who were present. Associate Justices Estela Bernabe and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa were not at the session.

The magistrates present only voted for three nominees for the position of ombudsman.

The candidates got the following number of votes: 

• Martires - 11 votes
• Ombudsman Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval, former Sandiganbayan presiding justice - 4 votes
• Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III - 3 votes