Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio bluntly stated that the Ombudsman violated its own Charter by investigating Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential fund which is also the subject of the complaint before the impeachment court.
In an interview with Brigada News FM Manila, Carpio said the Constitution and the law creating the Ombudsman clearly state that only the House of Representatives has the authority to file administrative cases against impeachable officials through impeachment.
This is the reason why Carpio believes the Ombudsman’s investigation is “useless”.
“The Ombudsman is just the agent of the House to conduct an investigation, and the investigation will be submitted to the House so they can determine whether or not to file an impeachment case. But in this case, the House already filed the impeachment complaint before the Senate, so it’s useless for the Ombudsman to do it,” Carpio said.
The Ombudsman’s investigation started after the House Committee on Good Government gave them a copy of their recommendation regarding alleged corruption in the Vice President’s use of confidential funds.
Prior to this, the Ombudsman sent a notice to Vice President Duterte to respond to the allegations.
House Impeachment Court Special Spokesperson Atty. Antonio Bucoy previously stated that the Ombudsman’s investigation should only proceed after the Impeachment Court’s verdict on Duterte’s case.
According to Bucoy, the Ombudsman can not investigate Vice President Duterte because she’s an impeachable official.
The House of Representatives acts as the prosecutor in the impeachment case, while the senators act as judges.
Duterte faces impeachment due to allegations of misusing confidential funds from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Abner is an award-winning journalist. He received the prestigious 2015 Titus Brandsma Award for Community Communication in the Philippines and participated in the 2016 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the United States of America, sponsored by the US Embassy in the Philippines. Founder of WATCH NORTH COTABATO, a media-citizens’ transparency group. He worked as a correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and CNN Philippines. His experience in broadcasting includes anchoring for Brigada News FM in Kidapawan and General Santos City and Brigada News TV. He anchors Tira Brigada via 105.1 Brigada News FM Manila, Mondays-Saturdays.