Duterte schoolmate, retired Sandiganbayan justice on shortlist for Special Prosecutor post

Six people have made it to the final list of nominees for the position of Special Prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman, including a schoolmate of President Rodrigo Duterte and a retired presiding magistrate of the Sandiganbayan.

The shortlist was prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), which vets nominees to the post vacated by Wendell Barreras-Sulit last March 11.

Topping the list is trial lawyer Vernard Quijano, who finished his law degree from the San Beda College of Law, Duterte's alma mater, in 1988.

Quijano is said to be a fraternity brother of  Duterte at the Lex Talionis Fraternitas, Inc.

The lawyer also holds a Master's degree in law from San Beda.

Also on the shortlist is former Sandiganbayan presiding justice Edilberto Sandoval, who had served in the anti-graft court for 15 years.

Rounding out the list of Sulit's potential successors are Makati City Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon, Acting Ombudsman Special Prosecutor Omar Sagadal, Polytechnic University of the Philippines law professor Arnold Bayobay and former Ombudsman Mindanao lawyer Eusebio Avila.

Ten individuals had been considered by the JBC before it narrowed down the list to six names for the President's consideration.

Those who failed to make it to the shortlist are former Commission on Elections law department head and now Mandaue RTC Judge Ferdinand Rafanan, former Ombudsman Prosecution Bureau director Diosdado Calonge, and lawyers Francisco Alan Molina and Raymundo Julio Olaguer.

Mandated with a fixed term of seven years, the Special Prosecutor is empowered to conduct preliminary investigation and prosecute criminal cases against erring government officials that are within the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan and enter into a plea bargaining agreement.

The Special Prosecutor also has the power to consider whether or not an accused should be turned into a state witness, subject to the approval of the anti-graft court. —KG, GMA News