Martires tops voting, moves closer to Ombudsman post

Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Martires on Friday took a step closer to succeeding outgoing Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales as he topped the voting of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) in its search for the country’s next top graft buster. The JBC’s unanimous vote was a shot in the arm for Martires, a former Sandiganbayan associate justice, whowas instrumental in the ouster of Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice when he joined seven other justices in granting Solicitor General Jose Calida’s quo warranto petition on May 11. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, who earlier admitted asking President Duterte to “designate me as Ombudsman,” was disqualified from the race, according to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, an ex officio member of the JBC. “Based on records, [Bello] has pending cases under preliminary investigation [in the Department of Justice]. But I’m checking now whether this is accurate,” Guevarra said in a text message. Another top contender, Edna Batacan, the President’s former lawyer, was also excluded from the short list, which will be forwarded by the JBC to Malacañang.—