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Emilio A. Gonzales III Vs. Office of the President of the Philippines, acting through and represented by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr., et al./Wendell Barreras-Sulit Vs. Atty. Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr., in his capacity as Executive Secretary, Office of the President, Atty. Dennis F. Ortiz, et al. [SEPARATE OPINIONS CARPIO, BRION, ABAD]

EMILIO A. GONZALES III, Petitioner, versus OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES, acting through and represented by EXECUTIVE SECRETARY PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR., SENIOR DEPUTY EXECUTIVE SECRETARY JOSE AMOR M. AMORANDO, Officer in Charge, Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, ATTY. RONALDO A. GERON, DIR. ROWENA : TURINGAN SANCHEZ and ATTY. CARLITO D. CATAYONG, Respondents. x---------------------------------------------x WENDELL BARRERAS-SULIT, Petitioner, versus ATTY. PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR., in his capacity as EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ATTY. DENNIS F. ORTIZ, ATTY. CARLO D. SULAY and ATTY. FROILAN D. MONTALBAN, .JR., in their capacities as CHAIRMAN and MEMBERS of the OFFICE OF MALACANANG LEGAL AFFAIRS, Respondents. [SEPARATE OPINIONS CARPIO, BRION, ABAD]

G.R. No. 196231 and G.R. No. 196232 [SEPARATE OPINIONS CARPIO, BRION, ABAD] | 2012-09-04

CONCURRING OPINION

CARPIO, J.:

Our Constitution does not impart a fixed and rigid concept of independence among the offices that it creates. While it declares certain bodies as "'independent", we cannot assume that the independence of the Ombudsman1is the same as the independence of the Judiciary. Neither is the independence of the Constitutional Commissions the same as that of the National Economic and Development Authority, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or the Commission on Human Rights2. This Court cannot make a "one size fits all" concept of independence because the Constitution itself differentiates the degree of independence of...