Supreme Court recommends Justice Martires as Ombudsman

The Supreme Court (SC) has recommended the appointment of one of its own, Associate Justice Samuel Martires, for the position of Ombudsman, just a little more than a year after he was appointed to the high tribunal.

SC spokesperson Theodore Te announced that Martires earned the unanimous recommendation of his High Court colleagues for the top graft-buster's office during its Tuesday en banc session.

He received 11 votes from the 11 justices who were present during the full court session, Te said.

Martires was President Rodrigo Duterte's first appointee to the Supreme Court and assumed the post in March 2017.

Martires is one of the 10 individuals vying for the post to be vacated by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales when she retires on July 26, the culmination of a full seven-year term.

Also applying for the position are Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, former Sandiganbayan presiding justice and Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval, and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz, and six others.

Sandoval got four votes from the SC justices present, while Bello got three, Te said. Apart from Martires, they were the only nominees who received votes from members of the high tribunal.

Davao judge Carlos Espero II and lawyers Edna Herrera-Batacan, Duterte's former attorney; Rainier Madrid, former Davao City vice mayor and presidential son Paolo Duterte's ex-counsel; Rey Nathaniel Ifurung, Felito Ramirez, Rex Rico are also contending to be the country's next top graft-buster.

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will vote on its shortlist of nominees for submission to President Duterte, the appointing authority, on Friday. — MDM, GMA News