Is the Ombudsman post now the fallback plan to take out Sara?
I WAS surprised — no, shocked — when the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) released the list of applicants for the Ombudsman position and it included Anna Liza G. Logan. She has been President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s deputy secretary for legal affairs and, before that, a partner in the MOST (Marcos, Ochoa, Serapio, Tan) law office founded by first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
If appointed as Ombudsman by President Marcos, Logan could play a crucial role in the Marcos-Romualdez ambition to retain power beyond 2028. Since the Ombudsman serves a fixed seven-year term, the two would also not suffer the kind of persecution — disguised as prosecution — that former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo suffered under Benigno Aquino III’s administration.
With the impeachment attempt against Vice President Sara Duterte buried ignominiously, the Marcos-Romualdez camp seems to be preparing a Plan B (or is it Plan C, after the failed Charter change effort last year?): Weaponize the Office of the Ombudsman. The strategy is twofold — “death by a thousand cuts,” and digging up dirt that the House minions of Speaker Martin Romualdez could never uncover on their own, even in a million years, for future impeachment complaints after the one-year ban expires in February 2026.
Immunity
Unlike the president, the vice president has no immunity from criminal charges, but can only be removed from office by impeachment. But unlike many international ombudsman systems that are limited to investigation and recommendations, the Philippine Ombudsman wields far greater powers: to investigate, charge, suspend, prosecute and discipline public officials, motu proprio — on its own initiative — even without a complainant.
This “thousand cuts” strategy was effectively used against Vice President Jejomar Binay to derail his 2016 presidential bid. Then-ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, appointed by President Aquino after Merceditas Gutierrez resigned under threat of impeachment, played a key role. Morales filed multiple graft, malversation and falsification charges against the Binays, mobilizing veteran investigators in her office.
Binay was the frontrunner in all surveys for the 2016 elections. But after the avalanche of cases, his numbers plummeted from 41 percent in 2014 to the low 20s by 2015. In the end, he managed only 13 percent of the vote, far behind Rodrigo Duterte’s 29 percent and even lower than Mar Roxas’ 24 percent.
Carpio-Morales’ power was demonstrated before Binay. Her investigators allegedly provided key data for the impeachment complaint against then-chief justice Renato Corona. She herself found a technical loophole to compel the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to release Corona’s bank records, including his dollar accounts — which by law should have remained confidential.
Leaked
These records were later leaked to the media, to then-Quezon City representative Jorge Banal, and activist Harvey Keh. The latter two attempted, unsuccessfully, to have them included in the impeachment trial record.
Morales even testified before the Senate, claiming Corona’s bank transactions were “anomalously huge.” But instead of balances, she presented transactions, many of which were counted multiple times. Even so, the dramatic presentation swayed public opinion and gave senators a convenient justification to convict Corona. Twenty-one senators voted guilty, each reportedly promised P100-P150 million in discretionary infrastructure funds by the Aquino administration.
This episode illustrates the immense power of the Ombudsman which could be harnessed again in 2026 — when the Marcos-Romualdez duo attempts another impeachment case against Sara — if Logan, now deputy executive secretary, is appointed Ombudsman by President Marcos. She would file so many criminal charges against Sara to portray her in the public mind as corrupt, which would pull down her popularity enough for her to lose in the 2028 elections, the fate Binay suffered in the 2016 polls.
Why is this scenario credible? Sources say Logan is fiercely loyal to the first lady, who shaped most of her legal career. Logan was recruited by Araneta-Marcos in 2008, two years after MOST was founded. After passing the bar, she reportedly worked briefly under former president Joseph Estrada before joining MOST, where she became a close confidante of the first lady.
One insider at the Office of the Executive Secretary even remarked that Logan is “more powerful than the laid-back Lucas Bersamin,” because “she has the ear of someone who has the ear of Bersamin’s boss.” At 51, Logan would be the second youngest ombudsman after Simeon Marcelo, who was 47 when he was appointed to the post by Arroyo.
Yinglong
Logan’s name first came to public attention in December 2022, when the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) issued a cease-and-desist order against the Chinese mining firm Yinglong for its questionable nickel-mining operations. Surprisingly, two days later, Logan issued an order lifting the cease-and-desist directive, even though the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief — a childhood friend of President Marcos — had authority over mining.
The move raised eyebrows. Critics questioned how a deputy executive secretary could override the DENR. The order was later recalled, but not before it highlighted Logan’s ability to intervene in high-stakes disputes. The case involved billions: nickel ore seized by the Bureau of Customs on Jan. 23, 2023, was valued at P200 million, amid soaring global prices.
Of the 17 applicants for Ombudsman, only Logan and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla are seen as serious contenders. The JBC will submit at least four names to Marcos, who will choose the next Ombudsman.
The JBC consists of the chief justice, the justice secretary, a congressional representative, a retired Supreme Court justice, and a representative of the private sector. Currently, four of its seven members were appointed by President Marcos, which strengthens Logan’s prospects.
Logan could, of course, turn out to be an Ombudsman of integrity, independent of the first lady’s influence.
But then most people had also the highest esteem for the former Ombudsman Carpio-Morales, who turned out to be the de facto political executioner of Chief Justice Corona, whom Aquino III wanted removed in order to get billions of pesos in the expropriation of his clan’s Hacienda Luisita and to prevent the high court from acquitting President Arroyo from baseless plunder charges.
Deferred
I’ve deferred the second part of my series, the first of which was titled “Brawner grossly ignorant of how we lost Panatag in 2012.” One day may not be enough time for Brawner to debunk my allegations. I hope he does so by Thursday, and I will devote a good part of my column to his reply. An officer and a gentleman should admit he was wrong when facts tell him so.
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Is the Ombudsman post now the fallback plan to take out Sara?
Source: Breaking News PH
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