JBC opens application for Ombudsman post

Office of the Ombudsman. (Photo By patrickroque01/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Tuesday announced the opening for application and recommendation to the post of Ombudsman Samuel Martires whose term will expire on July 27, 2025.

It said online applications and recommendations can be submitted to the JBC Online Registration and Application System (JBC O.R.A.S.) through its judicial platform www.portal.judiciary.gov.ph until 4:30 p.m. on July 4.

The law provides that the Ombudsman and his Deputies, including the Special Prosecutor, shall be natural born citizens of the Philippines, at least 40 years old, of recognized probity and independence, members of the Philippine Bar, and must not have been candidates for any elective national or local office in the immediately preceding election whether regular or special.

The Ombudsman must have, for 10 years or more, been a judge or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.

Martires was appointed Ombudsman on July 26, 2018 by then president Rodrigo Duterte after his retirement from the Supreme Court.

The Office of the Ombudsman was created in 1989 under Republic Act 6770 “to investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public officer or employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient.”

It has primary jurisdiction over cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan and, in the exercise of its primary jurisdiction, it may take over, at any stage, from any investigatory agency of government, the investigation of such cases under Section 15 (1) of RA 6770, and Section 13 (1), Article XI, of the Constitution.

The JBC is a constitutional office that screens appointments in the judiciary; the Office of the Ombudsman and its deputies and special prosecutor; and members of the Legal Education Board.

It is headed by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo as ex-officio chairperson.