Palace to respect SC ruling on deputy ombudsman’s case

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday said it would respect the Supreme Court’s decision stripping the Office of the President of its authority over a deputy ombudsman on administrative cases filed against him.

But Press Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said he is not yet sure whether the government, through the Office of the Solicitor General, will file a motion for reconsideration on the case of reinstated Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzales III.

“Our position on such matters would always be to respect the decision of the courts. We have always been, and we are abiding by decisions of the court because we always follow the rule of law,” he told a news briefing.

Coloma admitted, however, that he has not seen nor read the copy of the SC decision on Gonzales, the deputy ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices whom President Aquino dismissed from government service in 2011.

Gonzales was accused of alleged extortion by slain hostage taker Rolando Mendoza in the August 2010 Luneta crisis wherein eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.

Mendoza, a dismissed police officer who was also killed in the bungled police rescue operations, claimed that Gonzales tried to extort money from him in exchange for his reinstatement in the police force. Gonzales denied the allegations of Mendoza.

Gonzales was later found guilty by Aquino of gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct constituting betrayal of public trust for his handling of Mendoza’s cases.

The deputy ombudsman filed a petition in the SC seeking his reinstatement, where he eventually won in September 2012 but Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales refused to implement the order.

The SC ruled the other day that the Office of the President (OP) will no longer have jurisdiction over deputies of the ombudsman, maintaining that the President’s disciplinary powers or his administrative authority over them is unconstitutional.

The justices held that only the Special Prosecutor or the prosecuting arm of the Office of the Ombudsman would be covered by Malacanang’s disciplinary powers. No explanation was provided, however.

The SC said it ruled on the constitutional issue motu propio (on its own initiative) because it was not raised during discussions on the motion to reconsider its ruling on Gonzales’ reinstatement.

“The court, voting 14-1, denied the OSG’s motion for reconsideration of the Court’s decision in these cases dated Sept. 4, 2012 (only insofar as the court orders the reinstatement of Gonzales for the reason that the acts imputed to him do not constitute betrayal of public trust),” the SC stated in its advisory.

“On the issue of the lack of cause to dismiss Gonzales, the Court sustained its previous position, subject to the dissent of one justice. Several justices have indicated that they will submit separate opinions pending the promulgation of the decisions,” it explained.

In September 2012, the SC reversed Aquino’s dismissal order and ordered Gonzales’ reinstatement, saying the findings of the Palace “fall short of the constitutional standard of betrayal of public trust.”

But Ombudsman Morales issued a status quo ante order barring Gonzales from immediately reassuming his post. The court, she said, has yet to act on a pending motion for clarification filed by the OSG.

Gonzales is set to retire next month. At present, director Rudiger Falcis II is holding his position in an officer-in-charge capacity.

Gonzales has been trying to reclaim his post since October 2012 or a month after the SC ruled in his favor.