Sunday, December 30, 2007 Santiago now assistant ombudsman
THE lack of political backing twice foiled her bid to become deputy ombudsman for the Visayas but, as in the cliché, one simply can’t keep a good man—or woman—down.
Lawyer Virginia Palanca-Santiago has been appointed as assistant ombudsman (AO), the highest career service rank within the anti-graft office that may be obtained without a presidential appointment.
She took her oath last Dec. 17 in Manila.
Santiago, though, will remain based at the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
While AOs traditionally hold office in Luzon, where the Tanodbayan is, Santiago said she will be coordinating projects for Tanodbayan Merceditas Gutierrez from Cebu City.
A veteran lawyer who spent most of her career in government agencies such as the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman, Santiago also teaches criminal law, special penal laws and criminal procedure at the University of San Carlos (USC) College of Law.
While not considered the head of office, she will serve as Gutierrez’s alter-ego here in the Visayas.
She has served with four deputies at the Visayas anti-graft office—Arturo Mojica, Nicanor Cruz, Primo Miro and incumbent Pelagio Apostol.
Investigations
Prior to her appointment as AO, Santiago held the position of ombudsman director for public assistance and corruption prevention, the unit that conducts fact-finding investigations.
Among the investigations she has been involved in were the alleged overpricing of an asphalt deal during the term of former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia, the “expensive” dump trucks supposedly paid for by the City Government during the term of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, the Perdido Lex controversy involving former vice governor John Gregory Osmeña, the lamppost deal that led to the preventive suspension of former Mandaue City mayor Teddy Ouano and incumbent Lapu-Lapu Mayor Arturo Radaza, as well as the ongoing investigation on the alleged overpricing and procurement rules violation in the Cebu International Convention Center by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s administration.
Santiago has applied twice for the position of deputy ombudsman but was not chosen on both occasions. First, she lost out to Primo Miro, and then to current Deputy Ombudsman Apostol.
When Miro resigned last January, it was Santiago who assumed as officer-in-charge until Apostol’s appointment last September. (KNR)
