Critical Notes(3) on Janlokpal (Political Ombudsman) Scheme-Case study Philippine(1B)

nikhil_sablania Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:08 pm

Withdrawn, refiled

In any case, the Sandiganbayan’s database shows that the Ombudsman has filed more than 1,000 cases against senior government officials (with Salary Grade 27 and higher) from the time Gutierrez became the country’s first female Ombudsman up to December 2009. Of these cases, only 223 cases had resulted in convictions, or less than a quarter of the total.

The Ombudsman, meanwhile, says that from 2006 to 2009, its record of convictions based on the number of cases decided is 910. Its tally is higher than that derived from Sandiganbayan data because it includes cases filed before Gutierrez’s term.

Among these is the plunder case against former President Joseph Estrada that was filed in April 2001. At the time, Aniano A. Desierto was still the Ombudsman. Estrada was convicted in September 2007, the second year of Gutierrez’s term. He would later be pardoned by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Clearly, though, Gutierrez, like her predecessors, would often file multiple cases against a single individual. This is why while the 1,210 cases listed by the Sandiganbayan enroll a total of 4,066 respondents, these actually involve only 694 persons. Some respondents are accused of multiple counts of alleged corruption.

Interestingly, of the 223 cases filed under Gutierrez’s watch, almost all – 221 – were against one official: the mayor of Nakar, Quezon, while one each involved an Iloilo municipal mayor and a Nueva Ecija city mayor.

The 221 cases of “usurpation” against then Nakar Mayor Leovegildo R. Ruzol and municipal administrator Guillermo Sabiduria were all filed on March 31, 2006. The Sandiganbayan’s Third Division dismissed all the cases on June 7, 2006.

But on March 31, 2008, the Ombudsman filed nearly the same number of cases again for “usurpation” against Ruzol and Sabiduria. This time, on Dec. 19, 2008, the Sandiganbayan’s First Division convicted Ruzol but acquitted Sabiduria in all the cases.

Critical Notes(4) on Janlokpal (Political Ombudsman) Scheme -Case study Philippine(1C)https://mooknaayak.forumotion.com/t117-critical-notes4-on-janlokpal-political-ombudsman-scheme-case-study-philippine1c#130

Critical Notes(2) on Janlokpal (Political Ombudsman) Scheme - Case study Philippine(1A)
https://mooknaayak.forumotion.com/t114-critical-notes2-on-janlokpal-political-ombudsman-scheme-case-study-philippine1a

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Reference:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/02/07/11/ombudsman-failure-despite-flood-funds