Palace, Ombud at loggerheads anew over official's dismissal

Friday, April 1, 2011

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez are at another impasse, this time over the dismissal of one of her deputies.

Malacañang announced Friday that Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzales III has been ordered dismissed for "gross neglect of duty and gross misconduct" in failing to act on an appeal filed by Rolando Mendoza, a former police inspector ordered dismissed from police service.

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Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus in August last year, as he demanded to be reinstated. The incident left him and eight tourists from Hong Kong, China dead.

But the Office of the Ombudsman said Friday afternoon that as an independent Constitutional body, it has "disciplinary authority over all appointive officials of the government, except over officials who may be removed only by impeachment, or over members of Congress and the Judiciary."

In a statement released to the press, the office said its Internal Affairs Board had already investigated and cleared Gonzales over the hijacking.

"In view of the foregoing, this Office has considered the matter of DO Gonzales's culpability in the hijacking episode as legally final and closed," the statement read.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, head of the President's legal team and who recommended Gonzales's dismissal, found an "inordinate and unjustified delay" in the deputy ombudsman's inaction on Mendoza's appeal.

Under the Ombudsman's Rules of Procedure, appeals must be acted on within five days of submission. Ochoa said Gonzales showed "a flagrant disregard" for these rules by taking nine months to process the appeal.

The Palace legal team also saw substantial evidence to prove that Gonzalez committed gross misconduct by showing undue interest in taking over the administrative case filed against Mendoza when it was pending investigation with the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service.

Before the hostage-taking incident ended with his death, Mendoza accused Gonzales of asking for a bribe in exchange for an extortion case the policeman was facing.

"The circumstances surrounding the charges of gross neglect of duty and gross misconduct lent credence to Mendoza's accusation during the hostage-taking incident that Gonzalez was extorting P150,000 from him in exchange for a favorable decision," Ochoa said.

But in a press conference, Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus said Gonzales's dismissal can still be appealed up to the Supreme Court.

This is not the first time that Malacañang and the Office of the Ombudsman have clashed.

President Benigno Aquino III has categorically stated he wants Ombudsman Gutierrez removed from office.

President Aquino, chairman of the dominant Liberal Party (LP), rallied his allies at the House of Representatives to have Gutierrez impeached.

A House resolution to impeach her needed 95 votes to pass. On March 23, it got 212.

Before she was impeached, Gutierrez said moves to remove her from office are part of an LP vendetta against her.

She said Aquino wants her gone so he can appoint an Ombudsman friendly to Malacañang.

The Senate is set to convene as an impeachment court on May 9, when it comes back from recess.

Two LP senators, Teofisto Guingona III and Francis Pangilinan, have made it clear that they share the President's sentiments.

Guingona included her impeachment in a list of recommendations in a draft report of his Senate Blue Ribbon committee. Pangilinan, meanwhile, told Gutierrez to "resign or be impeached."

Senator Franklin Drilon, senior Liberal at the Senate, said, however, that there were no orders from Malacañang to convict Gutierrez. He and Senator Ralph Recto signed Guingona's draft committee report, but did so with reservations, saying it was not their place to comment on Gutierrez's impeachment. (Sunnex)