Priests, evangelicals challenge Martires' probity in Ombudsman application

MANILA - Associate Justice Samuel Martires’ bid to be the next Ombudsman was challenged Monday by a group of Catholic priests, Evangelical pastors, and theological teachers who accused him of lack of probity.

• SC Associate Justice Samuel Martires vies for Ombudsman post

In a letter-opposition addressed to Acting Chief Antonio Carpio, who is also acting Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) ex-officio chairman, Marlon De Luna, Daniel Franklin Pilario, Jimmy Belita, Eugene Canete, Noena Surmieda, Dario Pacheco, Peter Solis, Carol Daria, Ada Javellana Loredo, Mirasol Navidad, and Delfin Chiniona of St. Vincent School of Theology; Annelle Sabanal, Fermin Manalo, Jr., Annabel Manalo, Amanda Shao-Tan, Christopher Sabanal, and Athena Evelyn Gorospe of Asian Theological Seminary; and Cynthia Cruz Dato of Faith Bible College urged the JBC to disqualify Martires because of the following issues:

- His refusal to inhibit from the quo warranto case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and his “biased line of questioning” during the oral arguments on the case where he raised a question on a connection, if any, between “‘mental illness’ and ‘invoking God as the source of personal strength;’”

- During his stint as magistrate of the Sandiganbayan, he was admonished, along with two other justices of the anti-graft court, by the high court for in January 2013 for “not immediately” implementing the arrest warrant against former Bacarra, Ilocos Norte Mayor Pacifico Velasco;

- His vote to allow the plea bargain deal between the Ombudsman and former AFP comptroller Major General Carlos Garcia involving a P300-million plunder case before the Sandiganbayan;

- His vote to allow the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and his position that Marcos “was not dishonorably discharged” from the service by virtue of the EDSA People Power revolt.

“As leaders of the faith community, we educate the faithful on how to behave in civilized society, how to act properly, how to be governed by strictures and rules which provide the least harm for every person.'

"We see the Supreme Court serving a similar function as it educates not only the Bench and Bar but also every citizen and person on how to understand and meaningfully read the law and observe its proper compliance," their letter read.

“The Ombudsman can shape the landscape of the civil service for the Ombudsman to have been administratively admonished in the past, for the Ombudsman to have failed to follow mandatory rules such as recusal as a judge, for issuing questionable resolutions, for asserting untruthful historical facts, and for the Ombudsman to have prejudgement against faithful people; all these would besmirch our institutions and would invite discrimination in the highest echelons of our Constitutional government,” it added.

Martires’ application for the top anti-graft office post is due to the impending retirement of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on July 26.

Sought for comment on the letter-opposition through the SC Public Information Office, Martires said he had no comment on the issue.

He will have the opportunity to present his side should the JBC ask him to react to the opposition during his public interview for the Ombudsman post on June 20.

In its May 11 ruling ousting Sereno, the high court ruled on 6 separate motions for inhibition filed by Sereno for the recusal of Martires and Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, and case ponente Noel Tijam.

During the oral arguments, Martires asked: "Would you agree it's a mental illness when a person always invokes God as the source of his strength? The source of happiness? The source of everything in life? Is that mental illness?"

In rejecting Sereno’s call for Martires’ inhibition, the high court stated:

“As for Justice Martires' statements during the Oral Arguments, this Court does not view them as indication of actual bias or prejudice against respondent. Our review of the record reveals that Justice Martires' did not refer to respondent as the object of his statements….”

“Contrary to respondent's contentions, Justice Martires has not suggested that she suffers from some mental or psychological illness. At most, his questions and statements were merely hypothetical in nature, which do not even constitute as an opinion against respondent. Certainly, to impute actual bias based on such a brief discourse with respect to hypothetical matters is conjectural and highly speculative. ‘Allegations and perceptions of bias from the mere tenor and language of a judge is insufficient to show prejudgment.’”

FAITH SHAMING

In his separate concurring opinion, Martires denied ‘faith shaming’ Sereno. The following are excerpts of his 46-page opinion:

“Who is the real faith shamer?

"In a meeting with the Chiefs of Office of the Supreme Court sometime between the period 2012-2013, movant Sereno directed the chiefs of office not to make the sign of the cross during official meetings or functions before and after the ecumenical prayer is recited. Was movant Sereno curtailing the right to religion of the court employees? Was movant Sereno insulting the Catholics when, in a PHILJA meeting, she made the sign of the cross even if she is not a Catholic? Or is this movant Sereno's way of mocking the Catholic faith?

"I dare movant Sereno to bare only the truth as to what I have revealed here. She cannot forever cowardly hide the truth by mudslinging every person who she thinks could unravel her distorted claims.

"I must say that hand in hand with our quest for truth, is the need to respect each other, which movant Sereno must be sorely missing as she now finds herself in a quagmire of her own version of fabricated falsehoods and distorted truths.”

Apart from Martires, the following are the other candidates for Ombudsman:

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III

Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz

Former Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice and Ombudsman Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval

Judge Carlos Espero II

Atty. Edna Batacan

Atty. Rey Nathaniel Ifurung

Atty. Rainier Madrid

Atty. Felito Ramirez

Atty. Rex Rico