THE LIBERAL PARTY (LP) added its voice to calls against lawyer Edna Herrera-Batacan’s application for the post of Ombudsman.
“We join the growing clamor to disqualify Atty. Edna Herrera-Batacan in her bid to become the next Ombudsman,” the LP said in a statement, Wednesday.
The Ombudsman aspirant had been accused by lawyer Ferdinand S. Topacio of previously charging a client P8 million, which the client thought was intended to dismiss charges against him.
Ms. Batacan was asked about that matter during her public interview with the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) last month when she also acknowledged her ties with President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Mr. Topacio, also a leading supporter of Mr. Duterte, challenged Ms. Batacan’s application in a letter to the JBC expressing his “vigorous opposition.”
Citing the 1987 Constitution, the LP noted that the Ombudsman “must be a paragon of probity, honesty, and ethical conduct.”
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales’s term ends on July 26. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

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