Duterte’s former legal consultant now overall deputy ombudsman

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed his former legal consultant Warren Rex Liong as overall deputy Ombdusman, replacing Arthur Carandang whom he had fired for speaking about an inquiry into his alleged unexplained wealth.

Liong, a lawyer and certified public accountant, was appointed on Nov. 24 and will serve a seven-year term, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.

“The Chief Executive in numerous occasions espoused the values of transparency, accountability and efficiency. We are confident that Mr. Liong similarly share these ideals as our quest for good governance remains unyielding and uncompromising,” Roque said.

Top 2 officials

Liong’s appointment makes the two top officials in the Office of the Ombudsman appointees of the President.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires, a former Supreme Court associate justice, succeeded Conchita Carpio Morales who stepped down in 2018.

Past positions

As overall deputy Ombudsman, Liong’s job is to oversee and administer the operations of the different offices under the Office of Ombudsman. He can also perform other functions and duties assigned by the Ombudsman.

The Office of the Ombudsman has deputies for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and the military and other law enforcement offices.

Prior to his appointment, Liong was a procurement director at the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, which is under the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management.

Liong, 41, was Mr. Duterte’s legal consultant from August 2010 to June 2013 when the President served as mayor of Davao City.

He also served on the board of the Philippine Reclamation Authority where he was appointed in 2017 and was also named supervising legal consultant of the Housing Development Corp. in January 2017.

Before that, Liong headed the legal office of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. Region 11 office from February to December 2016.

Liong obtained his accountancy degree from De La Salle University in Manila. He studied law at the Ateneo de Davao University, graduated in 2006 and was admitted to the bar in 2007.