YEARENDER: Impeach raps, hostage crisis rock Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines – Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez had her hands full in 2010, including parrying an impeachment complaint.

Widely criticized for allegedly sitting on high-profile corruption cases during the previous Arroyo administration, Gutierrez now has to tackle controversial issues like the plea bargaining agreement with former military comptroller Carlos Garcia as well as allegations of bribery involving one of its officials in connection with the Aug. 23 hostage crisis. Gutierrez is an Arroyo appointee.

Gutierrez’s fortunes appear to be unraveling with the rise to power of Arroyo’s nemesis, President Aquino.

She is now facing two impeachment complaints before the House of Representatives, whose members are mostly allied with Aquino.

Accusations that she was protecting Mrs. Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel from possible legal suits have continued to haunt her.

The impeachment complaint against her in 2009 did not prosper supposedly because of the Arroyo administration’s strong support base in Congress.

However, with Arroyo no longer in power and with many lawmakers now allied with Aquino, getting enough support to fend off another impeachment complaint may be a big challenge for Gutierrez.

But before lawmakers could even debate on the impeachment complaints in plenary session, Gutierrez managed to get a reprieve from the Supreme Court which stopped the House of Representatives from acting on the complaint until legal questions regarding the filing of the impeachment raps are resolved.

The Ombudsman again found itself at the center of controversy when dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza took a busload of Hong Kong tourists hostage in Manila. The hostage taking ended in the deaths of Mendoza and eight of the hostages in a botched police rescue effort.

During the negotiations for the release of the hostages, Mendoza accused the Office of the Ombudsman of wrongly indicting him in an extortion case filed by a hotel chef.

Mendoza also alleged that Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices Emilio Gonzales III tried to extort money from him in exchange for a reversal of the ruling on the extortion case.

To placate Mendoza, Gutierrez ordered an investigation into the extortion case but this turned out to be not enough to convince the dismissed policeman to release his hostages.

And just as the year was about to end, the Office of the Ombudsman again found itself in the limelight because of the plea bargain deal between Garcia and the Ombudsman’s special prosecutors.

The deal, made public on Dec. 16, allowed Garcia to plead guilty to lesser offenses and walk out of jail on P60,000 bail.

The President, taken by surprise, sought an explanation despite the prosecution’s assurances that the agreement was in the interest of the government as it would mean instant recovery of some P135.4 million in alleged ill-gotten wealth.

Gutierrez herself hardly spoke on the issue but her spokesman said they could not comment because the Sandiganbayan Second Division had not yet ruled on the deal.

“From the moment the Ombudsman took her oath of office, she had sworn to be an independent enemy of graft and corruption,” Assistant Ombudsman and spokesperson Jose de Jesus Jr. said when asked about the challenges that Gutierrez would likely be facing in 2011.

Despite accusations of failing to prosecute Arroyo and other big fish, he said Gutierrez is “beholden to nobody but the country, the people, the Constitution, and the law.”

“Acquaintanceship and friendship are subordinate to this order. No more, no less,” he stressed.

Gutierrez herself had earlier stressed that perceived closeness to the appointing authority is not a crime or an impeachable offense.

“The Ombudsman will bring down the hammer as heavy as she can regardless of personal relations. She can in conscience live with that with God on her side,” De Jesus said. –Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star)