Ma. Merceditas Consunji Navarro Gutierrez (born September 24, 1948) is a Filipino government official who is currently serving as member of the board of trustees of
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). Following her graduation from the
Ateneo de Manila University Law School in 1973, she established herself as a significant figure within the governmental sphere through key appointments. 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 May 6, 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 Law School in 1973, wherein she was a schoolmate of the First Gentleman
Mike Arroyo. 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 (PADC), then, Presidential Legal Officer of the
Philippine Presidential Office. 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 Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for national and regional economic policy, development, monitoring, and planning. DEPDev also oversees the pl ...
of the Philippines.
Government career
Justice Secretary
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
Hernando Perez
Hernando Benito Perez (; born September 27, 1939), also known as Nani Perez and colloquially as Nani, is a Filipino lawyer, academic, and a former politician who is previously served in the Arroyo administration as the Secretary of Justice, ...
then, Secretary
Simeon Datumanong 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 Reyes Salonga, Knights of Rizal, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) also called "Ka Jovy," was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from th ...
and civil society groups filed impeachment charges before the
Philippine Congress 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, former Brigadier General
Danilo Lim 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 ...
for inaction on the
Fertilizer Fund scam, the
Euro Generals scandal, and the Mega Pacific scandal. The
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee 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
A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...
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.
GSIS
In April 2023, Guttierez was appointed as member of the board of trustees of the
Government Service Insurance System.
On April 15, Gutierrez questioned the actuation of GSIS President Jose Arnulfo "Wick" who wrote Secretary
Lucas Bersamin on the “legal conclusion” that she is unqualified to her new post based on a March 28 “
whistleblowing
Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
complaint” against her. The GSIS trustees joined Gutierrez in the investigation of Veloso's previous acquisitions, included former
LandBank EVP Jocelyn Cabreza and former Congresswoman
Evelina Escudero, the mother of
Francis Escudero
Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero (, born October 10, 1969) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who has served as the 25th president of the Senate of the Philippines since May 20, 2024. Escudero has served as a Senate of the Philippines, s ...
. She questioned GSIS investments using the money of government workers.
See also
*
Ombudsman of the Philippines
In the Philippines, the Office of the Ombudsman () is the constitutional body responsible for investigating and prosecuting Philippine government officials accused of crimes, especially graft and corruption.
Functions
Under the Constitution ...
*
Department of Justice (Philippines)
The Department of Justice (, abbreviated as DOJ) is under the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for upholding the rule of law in the Philippines. It is the government's principal law agency, serving as its legal co ...
References
External links
Office of the Ombudsman - Official Website
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Merceditas N.
Living people
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
20th-century Filipino women lawyers
Bongbong Marcos administration personnel
People from Bataan