New Ombudsman vows to not be “used” by politicians

FILE: Manuel Martires during the Oath Taking of Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Martires 3/8/2017 video (Screengrab from RTV Malacanang video/Youtube)

A day after the President officially named him, newly-appointed Ombudsman Samuel Martires assured that he will not be swayed by politicians to be a tool.

“I will not allow myself to be used by politicians to prosecute their political enemies. I don’t have that prosecution complex,” he told the reporters on Friday, July 27, during a courtesy call in the Office of Ombudsman.

He explained that some people who have positions file raps against their political enemies for the sake of harassment.

Martires, who is set to head the anti-graft body said that even the one who appointed him – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte – and his family or the first family would not be excluded if “there is a probable cause.”

“Kung (If) the evidence will show that there is a probable cause to file charges against any members of the family, why not? Kaya nga ako tinalaga dito. Pero kung wala naman, sana tanggapin (That is why I am appointed for this position. But if there is none, I hope people will accept),” he said.

In line with this, the new Ombudsman also explained that he is ready to face critics.

“Nasa isip ko lahat ‘yon (I thought of it all). Right now, I can’t talk about it. Just give me time to relax and to compose myself because I was surprised yesterday,” he admitted.

Martires added that he cannot please everyone.

In a statement on Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr., a lawyer, said that the new Ombudsman is a respectable man.

“Wala pong bahid ng kahit anong eskandalo ang kanyang buhay, at hinahangaan ko talaga siya, dahil siya naman po talaga ay bihasa sa batas at talaga namang ni-re-recognize bilang isang legal luminary sa aming mga abogado (He has no trace of any scandal in his life, and I really admire him, because he is really an expert when it comes to law and he is recognized as a legal luminary to us lawyers),” Roque said in an interview with dzRH.