Merceditas Gutierrez
| Merceditas Gutierrez | |
|---|---|
| Ombudsman of the Philippines | |
|
In office December 1, 2005 – May 6, 2011 |
|
| President |
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Simeon V. Marcelo |
| Succeeded by | Orlando C. Casimiro (acting) |
| Secretary of Justice | |
|
In office December 24, 2003 – August 31, 2004 |
|
| President | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
| Preceded by | Simeon Datumanong |
| Succeeded by | Raul M. Gonzalez |
|
In office November 27, 2002 – January 15, 2003 |
|
| President | Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
| Preceded by | Hernando B. Perez |
| Succeeded by | Simeon Datumanong |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Philippines |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Ma. Merceditas Navarro Gutierrez was a Filipino government official and Ombudsman of the Republic of the Philippines. She was a two-time Justice Secretary of the Philippine Justice Department in 2002 and 2004. She assumed the Office of the Ombudsman on December 1, 2005 as the first woman to head the post. On March 22, 2011, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Gutierrez. She announced her resignation from office on April 29, 2011, which took effect on May 6, 2011.
Gutierrez graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University Law School in 1972, wherein she was a schoolmate of the future First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. She took the Bar the following year but failed. She then eventually passed the Bar in 1974 with an average grade. 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. After her stints from those government offices, she was moved by the President to the National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines.
In two separate instances, Gutierrez was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Acting Secretary to fill out the vacant seats of Secretary Hernani Perez in 2002 and Secretary Simeon Datumanong in 2004.
On December 1, 2005, President Arroyo appointed Gutierrez to the post of Ombudsman, who is responsible for investigating erring government officials. She was the first woman to be appointed as ombudsman.
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.
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