MANILA, Philippines – Party-list lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc said President Rodrigo Duterte should stop intimidating and vilifying Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and allow her to do her job.
“We say that President Duterte should leave Ombudsman Carpio-Morales alone and let her do her job. He must back off,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
The Makabayan bloc is composed of Representatives Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, Antonio Tinio and France Castro of ACT Teachers, Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis, and Sarah Elago of Kabataan.
In his latest tirade against the Ombudsman, Duterte told reporters in a news conference that he would file an impeachment complaint against Morales, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Earlier, he also said he would form a commission that would investigate the alleged corruption within the Office of the Ombudsman.
Duterte issued these attacks after the Ombudsman said it would look into his alleged hidden and ill-gotten wealth.
The Makabayan bloc said what the Ombudsman was doing was within the ambit of her functions.
“Her initiative to investigate the President, an impeachable public official, is within the mandate granted her office none other than by the 1987 Constitution,” they said.
According to the lawmakers, the Office of the Ombudsman has the constitutional mandate to investigate on its own any illegal act of any public officer, including the President. The 1987 Constitution provides:
“Article XI, Section 13. The Office of the Ombudsman shall have the following powers, functions, and duties: Investigate on its own, or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public official, employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper, or inefficient. Investigate on its own, or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public official, employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper, or inefficient.”
They said this was supported by the Rules of Procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman. It provides:
“xxx provided, however, that the Office of the Ombudsman may investigate any serious misconduct in office allegedly committed by officials removable only by impeachment for the purpose of filing a verified complaint for impeachment, if warranted.” (Rule III, Sec. 2)
The lawmakers reminded Duterte about the bank secrecy waiver he signed together with candidate for vice president Alan Peter Cayetano in March 2016.
He even challenged his rivals to the presidency to similarly sign waivers, “in the interest of transparency and accountability and to deter corruption in any form in the government,” Makabayan said.
“It seems though that this move was just a big political gimmick because the waiver that President Duterte and Secretary Cayetano signed during the campaign was invalid, unusable and did not specify the banks or any account numbers,” they said.
“The fact that up till now President Duterte refuses to issue a genuine and valid waiver to see the history of his bank transactions in any specific bank is a strong indication that he is hiding something and fears that it would be exposed. That is why he is going all out in his demolition and harassment campaign against the Ombudsman who is investigating him,” they added.
