Ma. Merceditas Consunji Navarro Gutierrez (born September 24, 1948) is a Filipino former government official who served as the 4th ombudsman of the Philippines. After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University Law School in 1973, she quickly established herself as a valuable government figure. Aside from becoming a two-time Justice Secretary of the Philippine Justice Department, Gutierrez also became the first woman to head the post of Ombudsman. She assumed the position on December 1, 2005, and resigned from office on April 29, 2011.

Early life

Merceditas Gutierrez was the second child of the former Vice-Governor and Representative of Bataan, Rufino Navarro Sr. and Candelaria Consunji. She was the second of five children and attended elementary and high school in the small town of Samal, Bataan. Gutierrez moved to Manila for College and graduated from the

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic ( Jesuits) , academic ...

Law School in 1973, wherein she was a schoolmate of the future First Gentleman

Mike Arroyo Jose Miguel Tuason Arroyo (born June 27, 1945), also known as Mike Arroyo, is a former First Gentleman of the Philippines. A lawyer by profession, he is the husband of former president and house speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He is the first ...

. She was initially unable to take the Bar exam due to her pregnancy with her first child, Johnny Gutierrez. However, upon taking the Bar the next year, Merceditas successfully passed her first attempt. Soon after, in 1983, she began engaging herself in government services. She became the Legal Officer of the

Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation The Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation (PADC) is a state-owned aerospace and defense technological development corporation integrated to the Department of National Defense througExecutive No. 78 s. 2019 As of 2021, PADC is under organi ...

(PADC), then, Presidential Legal Officer of the

Philippine Presidential Office The Office of the President of the Philippines (OP; fil, links=no, Tanggapan ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas), is an administrative, advisory, and consultative government agency that aids the president of the Philippines in performing their duty as he ...

. Her achievements in those government offices earned her a personal promotion by then- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the

National Economic and Development Authority The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA; fil, Pambansang Pangasiwaan sa Kabuhayan at Pagpapaunlad) is an independent cabinet-level agency of the Philippine government responsible for economic development and planning. It is headed ...

of the Philippines.

Justice Secretary

Atty. Merceditas Gutierrez worked for the Department of Justice for almost two decades and was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Undersecretary of Justice in 2001. In the year 2002, Gutierrez was designated as the Acting Secretary for Secretary Hernani Perez then, Secretary

Simeon Datumanong Simeon Datumanong (June 17, 1935 – February 28, 2017) was a Filipino Muslim politician who held different government positions including being a representative of the lone district of Maguindanao in the House of Representatives of the Philipp ...

in 2004.

Ombudsman

On December 1, 2005, President Arroyo appointed Gutierrez to the post of Ombudsman, who is responsible for investigating erring government officials. Thus, she became the first woman to be appointed as ombudsman in the Philippine Republic. In June 2007, she was elected as Vice-President of the 22-member Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), a regional grouping which aims to improve multilateral cooperation among Asian countries in the fight against the social menace. In March 2009, former Senate President

Jovito Salonga Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the P ...

and civil society groups filed impeachment charges before the

Philippine Congress The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the te ...

against Gutierrez, alleging that she mishandled cases. The complaint was later dismissed. On July 22, 2010, a new impeachment complaint was filed against Gutierrez by then party-list representative

Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros-Baraquel (; born February 24, 1966) is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist who has been serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representat ...

, former Brigadier General

Danilo Lim Danilo "Danny" Delapuz Lim (June 2, 1955 – January 6, 2021) was a Filipino soldier who served as Chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority from 2017 until his death in 2021. He was incarcerated at Camp Crame in Quezon City fr ...

and Evelyn Pestano on the basis of "illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient" handling of cases. In August 2010, another impeachment complaint was filed by

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan () or Bayan is an alliance of left-wing Philippine organizations. It was founded on International Workers' Day, May 1, 1985 as part of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship. Politics Ideology The prin ...

for inaction on the

Fertilizer Fund scam The Fertilizer Fund scam is a Philippine political controversy involving accusations that Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante diverted ₱728 million in fertilizer funds to the 2004 election campaign of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. ...

, the

Euro Generals scandal The Euro Generals Scandal involves Eliseo de la Paz and several Philippine National Police (PNP) officials who went to Russia in October 2008 to attend an Interpol conference. De la Paz was detained for carrying a large sum of undeclared money. De ...

, and the Mega Pacific scandal. The

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee The Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations of the Senate of the Philippines, or more popularly known as the Blue Ribbon Committee, is the Senate committee tasked to investigate alleged wrongdoings of the governmen ...

on March 10, 2011, recommended the impeachment and resignation of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez as well as the firing of members of the Office of the Special Prosecutor for "neglecting, weakening and complicating" the plunder case against former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia and his family. On March 22, 2011, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Gutierrez on charges of betraying the public trust, with 4 representatives abstaining, 46 against, and 210 for the impeachment, thereby sending the impeachment to the Senate.

References

External links

Office of the Ombudsman - Official Website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Merceditas N. Living people Filipino women lawyers Ombudsmen in the Philippines Secretaries of Justice of the Philippines Impeached Filipino officials Arroyo administration cabinet members Ateneo de Manila University alumni 1948 births 20th-century Filipino lawyers

Early life

Justice Secretary

Ombudsman

See also

References

External links