Martires receives support from judges for Ombudsman post

Supreme Court justices unanimously endorsed Associate Justice Samuel Martires as the next Ombudsman, Manila

Times reported. The court en banc voted to make a shortlist for the position to be vacated by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on July 26. Martires was endorsed by 11 magistrates. It was the first time that the tribunal held a voting on the post of Ombudsman. Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, acting chairman of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), is expected to vote for the top three names for the Ombudsman post. Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval got four votes in the en banc voting. Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello got three. The JBC is set to vote on the shortlist for the next top graftbuster on July 20. However, only six of the seven members of the council are expected to vote because Jose Mejia, who represents the academe, ended his four-year term on July 7. The JBC screens and vets nominees for the judiciary. The ex-officio members are Senator Richard Gordon and Rep. Reynaldo Umali, and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra. Gordon and Umali share their term because under the law, congress is entitled to one vote. Retired Justice Jose CatralMendoza heads the JBC Executive Committee, with Milagros Fernan-Cayosa representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and retired judge Toribio Ilao, representing the private sector, as regular members. Martires, a graduate of San Beda College of Law, was a judge in La Union before he was appointed to the Sandiganbayan in 2005 by then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.