GERVACIO
Margarito Gervacio Jr., an appointee of former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, served as the overall deputy Ombudsman from 1999 to 2006, amid controversies at the Office of the Ombudsman during the Arroyo administration.
He briefly took over as acting Ombudsman for a few months until the appointment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in December 2005, following the resignation of Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo amid speculation that Marcelo was being pressured on a graft case involving a Palace ally.
In the days leading to his retirement, Gervacio challenged Gutierrez that she resolve immediately all cases involving President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies and prove that she was not a tool of Malacañang.
In 2011, five years after leaving office, Gervacio was charged with perjury at the Sandiganbayan for allegedly failing to declare his Davao City house in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2003.
In recommending the filing of the case, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said the house in Mintal, Davao City, was reflected in Gervacio’s 2004 SALN, but not in the 2003 SALN, even though it was built in 1999.
Gervacio later asked for a reinvestigation of the case and the deferment of the warrant of arrest, saying that the Ombudsman was supposed to resolve the issue of his alleged failure to declare his lot in Davao City in his SALN, and not indict him for failing to declare his residence.
Gervacio served for 22 years in the Office of the Ombudsman, serving as Tanodbayan (the precursor of the Ombudsman) from 1984 to 1992 before being appointed presiding judge of the Cabanatuan City Regional Trial Court Branch 29 for three years and then deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao from 1995 to 1999.
He obtained his bachelor’s and law degrees with honors in 1958 and 1962, respectively, at Southwestern University in Cebu City. He was later recognized as the most distinguished alumnus of his alma mater.–Kathleen de Villa, Inquirer Research
Source: Inquirer Archives
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