OMBUDSMAN IS NEW SOLGEN
MANILA, FEBRUARY 7, 2012
(STANDARD) by Rey E. Requejo - MALACANANG has appointed Deputy
Ombudsman for Luzon Francis Jardeleza as the new solicitor general following the
resignation of Jose Anselmo Cadiz (photo) Friday.
Cadiz said he resigned because he wanted to go back to private practice. He
denied suggestions he was pushed out because President Benigno Aquino III was
unhappy with the way he handled key cases, including the Hacienda Luisita
dispute before the Supreme Court last year and the country's losing bid before
the World Trade Organization to defend its duties and taxes on imported
alcoholic products.
"There's no issue on those cases," Cadiz said.
"From the start I determined that I would be in government for a limited
period only. Now is the time to go back to private practice."
Cadiz said he would "wholeheartedly support" the Aquino administration even
in his private capacity.
The President thanked Cadiz for his loyalty and service.
"As my administration began the task of restoring the authentic rule of law,
I asked Jose Anselmo Cadiz to join my legal team as my first Solicitor General,"
Mr. Aquino said.
"He did so on the understanding that it would be to help put in place
much-needed reforms, after which he would return to private life."
But Palace sources told the Manila Standard that vested interest groups close
to the so-called Samar faction, led by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, had
pressured Cadiz to resign.
"Some people close to the executive secretary are pushing hard for the Aquino
administration to agree to a higher compensation of $400 million for the
contractor of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, but Cadiz
insisted on the $175.79 million ordered by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court
last year," the source said.
In October 2011 the Pasay Court ordered the government to pay that amount to
Philippine International Airport Terminals Co. for expropriating the terminal.
Cadiz said he didn't mind when he was not chosen to represent the central
bank in the case involving the closure of Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage
Bank, a case where the government was represented by former ombudsman Simeon
Marcelo from the Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco Law Offices. The
government lost its case before the Court of Appeals last week.
"The President wanted the [Office of the Solicitor General] to handle that
case, but the Bangko Sentral is independent," Cadiz said.
It is said that Cadiz's resignation became only a matter of time after he
defended the government's position last year in favor of distributing 4,915
hectares of sugar land owned by the President's family to farmers according to
the the agrarian reform program.
Observers said Cadiz stood by land distribution even though the President's
family preferred to hand out shares of stock instead.
"Clearly Cadiz was forced to resign because of his failure to protect the
interest of Aquino in Hacienda Luisita," said Rodel Mesa, secretary- general of
the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura.
"Aquino's vengeful spree is far from over; we expect more heads will roll,"
Mesa said.
"Even the high court justices will not be spared just like what he is doing
now to the chief justice. The issue here is all about Hacienda Luisita plain and
simple."
Mesa's group believes that Cadiz, like Chief Justice Renato Corona, is a
victim of the Aquino-Cojuangcoa clan's grand plan to take back Hacienda Luisita.
Jardeleza vowed to protect the public's interestin handling every case
involving the government.
A former lawyer and executive of San Miguel Corp., he was appointed by
President Aquino as deputy ombudsman for Luzon in July last year.
He is a native of Jaro, Iloilo City. He graduated cum laude from the UP
College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City, in 1974 and placed third in the 1974 Bar
exams with a general average of 88.35 percent.
Jardeleza joined the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz ACCRALAW in
1975 and became the law firm's partner in 1981. In 1986 he became chairman of
the ACCRALAW Litigation Department.
He secured his Master of Laws at the Harvard Law School in Massachusetts in
1977, and then trained in securities, litigation and public offerings as a
foreign associate in the New York City law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell.
He left ACCRALAW in 1987 and founded Jardeleza Sobreviñas Diaz Hayudini and
Bodegon, where he started practicing labor law. In 1990 he established the
Jardeleza Law Offices as a solo practice.
Jardeleza became senior vice-president and general counsel of food and
beverage giant SMC from 1996 to 2010. He handled labor cases, mergers and
acquisitions, corporate restructuring, securities, intellectual property and
corporate governance at the company.
He is a professor of Constitutional Law at the UP College of Law, where he
has been a professorial lecturer since 1993. With Maricel
Cruz
FROM PHILSTAR
Luzon ombudsman named new Solgen By Edu Punay (The
Philippine Star) Updated February 07, 2012 12:00 AMComments (1)
Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Francis Jardeleza is a trustee of the UP
Law Alumni Foundation and a member of the UP Law Centennial Commission. | Zoom
MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has appointed Deputy Ombudsman for
Luzon Francis Jardeleza as solicitor general in place of Jose Anselmo Cadiz, who
resigned from the post last Friday.
Cadiz officially turned over the post to Jardeleza during the flag-raising
ceremony yesterday at the Office of the Solicitor General in Legaspi Village,
Makati City.
He said he decided to leave the government because he wanted to go back to
private practice.
"From the start, I determined that I would be in government for a limited
period only. Now is the time to go back to private practice," he told reporters
at the Department of Justice.
Cadiz has denied talks that his resignation was due to the President's
supposed dissatisfaction with his performance in key cases handled by the OSG
last year, including the controversial Hacienda Luisita case before the Supreme
Court and the case before the World Trade Organization involving government
duties and taxes on imported alcoholic products.
"There's no issue on those cases," he clarified, adding that he would still
"wholeheartedly" support the Aquino administration even as a private citizen.
He also stressed he took no issue when he was not chosen to represent the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in the case involving the closure of Banco Filipino
Savings and Mortgage Bank – a case where the government was represented by
former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo from the topnotch Villaraza Cruz Marcelo &
Angangco Law Offices known as "The Firm" and had lost in the Court of Appeals
last week.
"The President wanted the OSG to handle that case, but BSP is independent,"
Cadiz said.
His resignation came after he defended before the SC last year the position
of the Department of Agrarian Reform for the distribution to
farmworker-beneficiaries of the 4,915.75-hectare sugar estate owned by the
family of President Aquino in Tarlac.
Cadiz had supported the bid of the farmworker-beneficiaries for the court to
recall and set aside the option earlier granted to the farmers to remain as
stockholders of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) and for the payment of P1.33 billion
for the proceeds of sale on the 500-hectare parcel of land.
Observers had cited that while Cadiz stood by the land distribution, he opted
to stick to the fair market value of the land in November 1989 instead of the
market value in 2006, which would have been beneficial to HLI.
No interviews
Jardeleza, despite persistent requests from media, refused to grant any
interviews yesterday pending an official announcement from Malacañang that he is
Cadiz's replacement.
The Office of the Ombudsman also refused to issue any statement on the vacuum
of leadership created by his appointment to the OSG.
As Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon, Jardeleza handles cases or complaints
involving government officials and employees within Luzon excluding Metro
Manila.
Jardeleza's exit means that two deputy ombudsman positions are now vacant,
including that of the Deputy Ombudsman for Military and Other Law Enforcement
Offices (MOLEO) that was vacated by Emilio Gonzalez III last year.
Bar topnotcher
Jardeleza, a former lawyer and executive of San Miguel Corp., was appointed
by President Aquino as deputy ombudsman for Luzon in July last year.
A native of Jaro, Iloilo City, he graduated cum laude from the University of
the Philippines College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City in 1974. He placed third
in the 1974 Bar exams, garnering a general average of 88.35 percent.
Jardeleza joined the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz (ACCRALAW) in
1975 and became the law firm's partner in 1981. He was the only junior partner
allowed to be a member of both the Litigation and Corporate (Special Projects)
Departments. In 1986, he became chairman of the ACCRALAW Litigation Department.
He secured his Master of Laws at Harvard Law School in Massachusetts in 1977,
and then trained in securities, litigation and public offerings as a foreign
associate in the New York City law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell.
He left ACCRALAW in 1987 and founded Jardeleza Sobreviñas Diaz Hayudini and
Bodegon, where he started practicing labor law. In 1990, he established the
Jardeleza Law Offices as a solo practice.
In 1992, he joined Roco Buñag Kapunan Migallos and Jardeleza as partner,
where he headed the litigation and labor law practice groups.
Jardeleza became senior vice-president and general counsel of food and
beverage giant SMC from 1996 to 2010. He handled labor cases, mergers and
acquisitions, corporate restructuring, securities, intellectual property and
corporate governance with SMC.
He is also a professor in constitutional law at the UP College of Law, where
he has been a professorial lecturer since 1993.
Forced to resign
A group of farmworker-beneficiaries belonging to the Unyon ng Manggagawa sa
Agrikultura believes Cadiz was "forced to resign" because of his strong defense
of DAR's position that led to the unanimous ruling of the high court in November
last year for the distribution of the hacienda.
"Clearly Cadiz was forced to resign because of his failure to protect the
interest of Aquino in Hacienda Luisita. There is no great deal of reason why he
resigned, not unless he made Aquino mad like his position for the distribution
of Hacienda Luisita," UMA secretary-general Rodel Mesa said in a statement.
The UMA leader also said "Aquino's vengeful spree is far from over; we expect
more heads will roll. Even the high court justices will not be spared, just like
what he is doing now on the Chief Justice; the issue here is all about Hacienda
Luisita plain and simple."
Emeritus Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who previously served as
president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, echoed the
sentiment, saying he believes there would be other top officials in government
who would follow Cadiz's move.
Noy grateful
President Aquino yesterday thanked Cadiz for joining his administration and
helping in his reform agenda, saying it has been their agreement from the start
that his stay in government would not be for long.
The name of Cadiz, along with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de
Mesa, has been reported since late last year as among the members of Aquino's
legal team who are expected to be replaced, following a series of legal debacles
for the government.
In a statement released through the office of presidential spokesman Edwin
Lacierda, it quoted Aquino as saying Cadiz knew his term in the administration's
legal team was temporary because he still wanted to go back to private practice.
President Aquino has also appointed Mandaue City Regional Trial Court Judge
Marilyn Lagura-Yap as associate justice of the Court of Appeals, Malacañang
announced yesterday.
Lagura-Yap graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines-College
of Cebu before earning her law degree from the University of San Carlos. She has
been in government for almost 27 years.
Lacierda also announced the appointments of Jacob Montesa II and Jean Susan
Desuasido Gill as metropolitan trial court judges.
The Palace announced the appointment of Emerson Palad as undersecretary of
the Department of Agriculture.
Prior to his appointment, he was officer-in-charge of the Office of the Chief
of Staff of the DA and its chief legal adviser. He is a 2005 holder of a juris
doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, Lacierda said.
– With Delon Porcalla, Michael Punongbayan, Ding Cervantes,
Aurea Calica, Evelyn Macairan
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
