A YouTube channel is claiming that Anna Liza Logan, Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs under the Office of the President, is the new Ombudsman. This is false.
The position remains vacant. The Judicial and Bar Council only published the official list of applicants on its website on Aug. 14.
Uploaded on Aug. 17, the inaccurate video had this headline:
“SI LIZA ANG NEW OMBUDSMAN! VP SARA TÂTADTARIN NG KASO (Liza is the new Ombudsman! VP Sara will be flooded with cases)”
The video featured several Facebook posts published by The Manila Times columnist Rigoberto “Bobi” Tiglao, which also speculated that Logan will be the next Ombudsman.
The JBC announced it will conduct a public interview of the 17 candidates for the position of Ombudsman from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2 at the Supreme Court session hall.
Logan, who is on the board of directors of the Philippine National Railroad, is scheduled to be interviewed on Sept. 1.
According to her profile on the PNR website, Logan “has very extensive law practice in Civil and Criminal Litigation; Family, Labor and Human Settlements Adjudication Commission Cases, Corporate and Commercial practice for financial technology companies, real estate development entities, and [non-governmental organization].”
The video with the false claim emerged three days after the JBC published the official list of Ombudsman aspirants. The list includes Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, who was previously rumored to be disqualified from the Ombudsman race. (READ: FACT CHECK: Remulla NOT disqualified from Ombudsman race)
Former Ombudsman Samuel Martires ended his seven-year term on July 27, leaving the post vacant. Currently, former Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Mariflor Punzalan Castillo serves as Acting Ombudsman.
Under Section 22 of Republic Act 6770 or “The Ombudsman Act of 1989,” the office has the power “to investigate any serious misconduct in office allegedly committed by officials removable by impeachment, for the purpose of filing a verified complaint for impeachment, if warranted.”
Posted by YouTube channel Robin Sweet Showbiz (created on July 25, 2017), the spurious video has so far garnered 21,603 interactions.
