Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III. (File photo from GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
“Make me the Ombudsman.”
This was the message, said in Filipino, of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to President Rodrigo Duterte as he admitted that he was vying for the soon-to-be-vacated Office of the Ombudsman.
Bello disclosed in a television interview late Tuesday evening that he would want to be the next Ombudsman after he was inspired by Duterte’s crusade against corruption.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales is set to vacate her office when her term ends in July.
“I keep telling the president. Ang sabi niya, ang kanyang krusada ay laban sa corruption, tapos ang sabi ko: ‘Tulungan kita.’ Ang sabi niya: ‘Paano naman?’ Gawin mo akong Ombudsman,” Bello said on ABS-CBN’s “Bandila.”
Pressed for confirmation if he had indeed filed an application with the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the Labor chief said: “It’s a new challenge. A new field.”
“Actually, it just occured to me recently nung President keeps harping on corruption. Yun ang focal point ng Ombudsman,” Bello said.
As an applicant, Bello would be screened and shortlisted by the seven-member JBC. Duterte would then choose from the JBC’s shortlist Morales’s successor. /atm