The next ombudsman

Within a month, President Duterte will be making one of his most critical appointments. Conchita Carpio Morales is retiring soon as ombudsman, the official principally tasked to go after the corrupt. The President has put the battle against corruption alongside his relentless war against illegal drugs as top priorities of his administration. His choice of the next ombudsman could mean the success or failure of his fight against graft.

Morales, who was appointed as ombudsman by Benigno Aquino III, has been criticized even by President Duterte for supposedly dispensing selective justice, particularly when it comes to wrongdoing imputed on officials of the previous administration. Thanks to her approaching retirement, Morales has narrowly escaped impeachment.

With his open criticism of Morales, President Duterte has raised expectations that his appointee as ombudsman will not face similar complaints about selective justice. To achieve this, there must be no doubt that the executive will respect the independence of the Office of the Ombudsman, which is a constitutional body.

While respecting the independence of the ombudsman, the executive can boost the capability of the office by providing additional funding for resources and personnel.

In the past months, the President has dumped several department secretaries and lower ranking Cabinet officials after receiving reports linking them to corrupt deals. A task force under his office is tasked to pursue complaints and tips about anomalies in executive offices. The ombudsman must complement the efforts of the task force by investigating and filing formal charges against those who are fired or are ordered to resign on accusations of corruption.

The nature of the job calls for a person of unquestioned competence and integrity – one who is apolitical and can be relied on to be impartial. The President should see no problem even if his appointee runs after his staunch supporters; he himself has been dropping them from his Cabinet amid reports of corruption. The momentum of his purge is best sustained with a competent and credible ombudsman.