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0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137
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28 July 2011
President Aquino must respect the independence of the Office of the Ombudsman by not putting on the spot the new Ombudsman, retired Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, by suggesting that she should pursue the mission of the scuttled Truth Commission in prosecuting former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
To further highlight his veiled instruction, the President announced that the documents and evidence against the former President and her officials which were submitted to or gathered by the infirm and disbanded Truth Commission will be transmitted to the new Ombudsman.
The President is virtually giving the new Ombudsman marching orders to prioritize the prosecution of his immediate predecessor.
These actuations demean and politicize the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent constitutional body, which should be allowed to voluntarily assume jurisdiction, freely conduct its own investigations and judiciously resolve complaints.
While the President denounced former President Arroyo for allegedly co-opting now retired Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, he himself is effectively pressuring the new Ombudsman with his importuning.