THE Supreme Court has ruled that the Office of the President has no
authority to impose disciplinary action on the Ombudsman’s deputies,
saying the administrative authority being exercised by the Executive on
the deputy ombudsman is unconstitutional.
“The Court held that the Office of the President has no power of
discipline over the office of the deputy ombudsman,” Supreme Court
spokesman Theodore Te said.
He said that of the appointed officials in the Office of the
Ombudsman, only the special prosecutor was covered by the Palace’s power
of discipline.
But he failed to tell more about the high court decision and declined
to name the justices who voted in favor of the ruling, saying some
magistrates had said they intended to submit their respective separate
concurring opinions.
The high tribunal made its ruling on the case of retiring Deputy
Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices Emilio
Gonzales III, the official who was dismissed from the service by the
Palace over the bloody hostage-taking incident at the Luneta Park on
Aug. 23, 2010.
The Court ruled on the constitutional issue on its own initiative
because it was not raised in the motion for reconsideration of its
earlier ruling ordering Gonzales’ reinstatement.
“The Court, voting 14-1, denied the Office of the Solicitor General’s
motion for reconsideration on the Court’s decision in these cases dated
September 4, 2012 (only insofar as the Court orders the reinstatement
of petitioner Gonzales III for the reason that the acts imputed to him
do not constitute betrayal of public trust),” the high court’s Public
Information Office said.
“On the issue of the lack of cause to dismiss petitioner Gonzales,
the Court sustained its previous position, subject to the dissent of one
justice. Several Justices have indicated that they will submit separate
opinions pending the promulgation of the decisions.”
The Palace ordered Gonzales dismissed in March 2011 for mishandling
the case of dismissed policeman Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, who
held hostage a busload of Chinese tourists from Hong Kong during the
incident in which eight Hong Kong nationals were killed.
But in Sept. 2012, the Supreme Court reversed the dismissal and
ordered his reinstatement after ruling that the grounds in the findings
of the Palace “fall short of the constitutional standard of betrayal of
public trust.”
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, however, did not allow Gonzales to
immediately assume his post, saying the high court ruling was not yet
final then.
Gonzales is set to retire next month.
source: Manila Standard
No comments:
Post a Comment