By Rey Panaligan
Newly appointed Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires said Friday he will not allow politicians to use his office to prosecute their political enemies.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires
“I don’t have that persecution complex,” he told journalists during his visit to the Ombudsman’s office in Quezon City.
Martires was appointed by President Duterte last Thursday, the day Conchita Carpio Morales stepped down as Ombudsman after completing her term of office.
A Supreme Court (SC) justice at the time of his appointment, Martires is expected to submit to the High Court his plea for optional retirement for approval by all the justices sitting as a full court.
He is due for retirement as SC justice in January next hear when he reaches age 70, the mandatory retirement age for members of the judiciary. He was appointed to the post by the President Duterte in 2017.
It is expected that his plea for optional retirement would be tackled in Tuesday’s full court session. If approved, Martires can immediately take his oath of office and assume his new post as Ombudsman for a term of seven years.
Martires also said he will be “impartial even if complaints would involve members of the First Family.”
"If the evidence will show that there is a probable cause for the filing of charges against any member of the family, why not?” he stressed.
But if there is no reason to file charges, Martires said he hopes his decision would be accepted.
“We cannot please everybody,” he pointed out.
Martires was a former Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan. Before that post, he was a judge of the regional trial court (RTC) based in Agoo, La Union.
He finished his law at the San Beda College and passed the bar in 1976. He took up Master of Law at the University of Santo Tomas.
From 1976, he engaged in a private law practice for almost 13 years.
He was also a former assistant department manager at the now-defunct Ministry of Human Settlements from 1979 to 1984, and legal officer of the then e Department of Public Works, Transportation, and Communication from 1976 to 1979.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires
“I don’t have that persecution complex,” he told journalists during his visit to the Ombudsman’s office in Quezon City.
Martires was appointed by President Duterte last Thursday, the day Conchita Carpio Morales stepped down as Ombudsman after completing her term of office.
A Supreme Court (SC) justice at the time of his appointment, Martires is expected to submit to the High Court his plea for optional retirement for approval by all the justices sitting as a full court.
He is due for retirement as SC justice in January next hear when he reaches age 70, the mandatory retirement age for members of the judiciary. He was appointed to the post by the President Duterte in 2017.
It is expected that his plea for optional retirement would be tackled in Tuesday’s full court session. If approved, Martires can immediately take his oath of office and assume his new post as Ombudsman for a term of seven years.
Martires also said he will be “impartial even if complaints would involve members of the First Family.”
"If the evidence will show that there is a probable cause for the filing of charges against any member of the family, why not?” he stressed.
But if there is no reason to file charges, Martires said he hopes his decision would be accepted.
“We cannot please everybody,” he pointed out.
Martires was a former Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan. Before that post, he was a judge of the regional trial court (RTC) based in Agoo, La Union.
He finished his law at the San Beda College and passed the bar in 1976. He took up Master of Law at the University of Santo Tomas.
From 1976, he engaged in a private law practice for almost 13 years.
He was also a former assistant department manager at the now-defunct Ministry of Human Settlements from 1979 to 1984, and legal officer of the then e Department of Public Works, Transportation, and Communication from 1976 to 1979.