The Ombudsman continues to defy Malacañang.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales is still crossing swords
with Malacañan. And she will not budge as against the perceived attacks and
pressure being mounted by the present administration as against the institution
she is leading.
Solicitor General warns the Ombudsman of starting a “constitutional
crisis” if she continues to defy Malacañang’s suspension of her deputy. "She
is moving towards a constitutional crisis if that is her position. We are ready
to defend the actions of the office of the president," SolGen Calida said. *
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| Solicitor General Jose Calida and Ombudsman Concita Morales (photo credit to ABS-CBN) |
Early this week Malacañang filed administrative charges and
has handed down a 90 day preventive suspension against Overall Deputy Ombudsman
Melchor Arthur Carandang, who happens to be the one leading the investigation
regarding the wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a statement released to the media, Morales stated that this is direct attack on the Ombudsman’s independence.
"It has become clear that the act
of the Office of the President in taking cognizance of the complaints against
the Overall Deputy Ombudsman and ordering his preventive suspension was not an
inadvertent error but a clear affront to the Supreme Court and an impairment of
the constitutionally enshrined independence of the Office of the Ombudsman.”
Morales further asserts that the actions by Malacañang is in
direct violation as what has been resolved by the Supreme Court in one of its
previous decisions.
"In a society founded on the rule of law, the arbitrary
disregard of a clearly worded jurisprudence coupled with a confident stance
that it will be changed should never be countenanced," said the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman was referring to a 2014 decision where the SC
declared unconstitutional a provision in
the Ombudsman Act of 1989 granting the Office of the President the power to
remove from office a deputy ombudsman. *
The suspension order came from the charges filed against
Carandang for grave misconduct for the
supposed illegal disclosure of the President Duterte and his family’s bank
transactions.
Malacañang also handed down a 90 day preventive suspension
as against Carandang.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explains that the case
stems from the complaint filed by Manuelito Luna and Eligio Mallari against
Carandang in October last year.
Carandang has made a previous statement that the Office of
the Ombudsman had started looking into the wealth of the President and his
family, and that all of this actions are with coordination with the Anti-Money
Laundering Council (AMLC).
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), however
categorically stated that it has not released any report to the Ombudsman as it
has yet to evaluate its request for an investigation of the President's and his
family's alleged illegal bank accounts.
“Carandang not only violated the Bank Secrecy Law and all the laws proscribing disclosure of confidential information and secrets as well as details relative to the fact-finding, but also grossly misrepresented the facts, if not indulged in misinformation calculated to undermine the integrity of the Anti-Money Laundering Council and bring about the weakening of the institution of the Presidency,” Luna and Mallari said in their complaint. *
"His disclosures of the inflows and outflows of funds, amounts of the account deposits, nature of the bank deposits, depositors’ names, and other details are not benign, but are calculated to destabilize the economy, if not the entire Government.”
Solicitor General Jose Calida has made a position that
President Duterte has authority to discipline a deputy ombudsman and asserts that he is very much ready to
defend the Palace’s position before the Supreme Court.
And the Ombudsman continues to defy the order, they are
considering filing charges also against the Ombudsman herself.
"We can even file a case against the Ombudsman for
coddling this Carandang. I will not telegraph my punches," the SolGen said.
Report from ABS-CBN
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