MANILA – Malacañang has a mind to bring to the Supreme Court the issue of the Office of the Ombudsman’s investigation of President Duterte’s wealth before he was elected Chief Executive.
According to Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo, this is because the matter being investigated by the graft body pertains to the assets of the President during his time as mayor of Davao City.
This divergency, Panelo believes, could step on the principle of the President’s current immunity.
What’s more, Panelo is questioning the investigation even if it is being carried out with the prospective impeachment of the President in mind.
The crux of the matter, Panelo points out, is that the probe is prying into financial details of Duterte during the time before he became president, which, he says, does not have anything to do with his current position as President.
“The subject matter of this investigation are acts allegedly committed by this president when he was still mayor, so how can you do that? How can there be abuse with respect to acts committed by the then mayor?” Panelo asked. “It has nothing to do with his alleged abuse of power as president.”
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