Cut Martires some slack

Critics ought to cut newly appointed Ombudsman Samuel Martires some slack. Justice Martires has a very tough mission ahead of him. Let’s give him the chance to do his job.

Our impression of the new Ombudsman is that he is a fair-minded person who will uphold the law without bias or prejudice. Detractors earlier panned Martires for his perceived lack of independence on account of his previous decisions when he was associate justice of the Sandiganbayan and later of the Supreme Court.

I am counting on Martires “to do what is right.” But of course we are also aware that, as Albert Einstein put it, what is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.

The Constitution mandates the Ombudsman “to investigate on its own, or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public official, employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper, or inefficient.”

Based on congressional records, the Ombudsman receives around 9,000 new criminal and administrative complaints against wayward officials every year.

The records also show that in 2017 alone, the Ombudsman filed 2,447 indictments or formal charges against errant officials before the Sandiganbayan, docketed 3,153 fact-finding cases and received 30,917 requests for assistance.

Malacañang designated Martires as the country’s seventh Ombudsman on July 26, replacing Conchita Carpio-Morales, who completed her seven-year term the same day. Martires, 69, was President Duterte’s first appointee as associate justice of the Supreme Court.--Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza

Police surveillance?

Why is the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 giving some love to the policeman who was allegedly killed in his attempt to kill Tejero Councilor Jessielou Cadungog? Why place the flag at half-mast?

If the policeman really did what he was accused of doing, then he should not be considered a hero like what the PRO 7 is portraying him.--Dante Respigio, Cebu City