Who is Merceditas Gutierrez?

Having served as the country’s first female Ombudsman, Merceditas Gutierrez – who was recently named as chair of the National Commission of Senior Citizens – is not new to key posts in the government.

Prior to her latest appointment, Gutierrez served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

Earlier this month, she and two other GSIS trustees tendered their resignations after they called for the immediate resignation of GSIS president and general manager Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso over differences in his investment strategies that allegedly resulted in P8.8 billion in losses.

However, Gutierrez – also known as “Mercy” – is most known as the country’s first female Ombudsman and graft buster, named in December 2005 by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

She held the post for five years until her resignation in April 2011 right before her Senate impeachment trial began.

Gutierrez was impeached by the lower chamber for her alleged inaction on graft cases – including those that involved Arroyo – but her Senate trial did not push through as a result of her resignation.

Prior to her five-year stint as anti-graft chief, Gutierrez served as Arroyo’s chief presidential legal counsel.

She first joined the government as a presidential legal officer at the Office of the President in 1974. In 1983, she moved to the Department of Justice as State Counsel III, eventually becoming DOJ acting secretary in 2004.

During her stay at the DOJ, Gutierrez was active in handling issues on women and children, human rights, indigenous peoples, human trafficking, and refugee concerns.

Gutierrez also represented the government in a number of extradition cases and mutual legal assistance.

A native of Samal, Bataan, Gutierrez has a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the College of the Holy Spirit, Manila and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila University.

She also has a Diploma in International Law and Development from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, in the Netherlands.

One of her children is lawyer and Justice Undersecretary Margarita Gutierrez. — JMA, GMA Integrated News