MANILA, Philippines (Updated 12:00 p.m.) — Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales cannot discipline Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Carandang, Solicitor General Jose Calida said, because, he argues, she has already "inhibited" herself from the probe on President Rodrigo Duterte's hidden wealth.
"The Ombudsman cannot also discipline the ODO for acts committed in a case where she inhibited herself as she will contradict herself," Calida said in a statement on Friday.
"[Carpio-Morales] sanctimoniously invoked a distorted interpretation of the Ombudsman's independence to shield her office from accountability," Calida said, stressing: "This is a travesty of justice."
Citing the 2014 Supreme Court ruling that ruled that the Office of the President does not have disciplinary jurisdiction over Ombudsman officials, Carpio-Morales said that she will not enforce the suspension issued by President Rodrigo Duterte, through the Office of the Executive Secretary.
Carpio-Morales passed baton, liability to Carandang
Carandang was quoted in reports as saying Morales had authorized him to probe allegations by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV that Duterte has billions in his bank accounts.
He said the deputy ombudsman for Mindanao, the unit leading a fact-finding probe on the president's alleged hidden wealth, had received Duterte's bank records from 2006 to 2016.
Calida pointed out that when Morales "authorized" Carandang to lead the probe, she "recused herself and passed the baton to ODO Carandang to do this task."
"The Ombudsman was supposed to investigate the fraudulent claims against the President," Calida pointed out. The Ombudsman is related to Duterte by marriage and has said she will inhibit from any cases related to the president.
"The Ombudsman cannot also discipline the ODO for acts committed in a case where she inhibited herself as she will contradict herself. Neither can the ODO be disciplined by the other Deputy Ombudsmen due to lack of legal basis," Calida said.
Ombudsman herself ignored jurisprudence
Calida also chided the Office of the Ombudsman for branding the OES ruling as an "clear affront to the Supreme Court" when her office also ignored jurisprudence in the past.
He was referring to the case of Jejomar Erwin Binay, who was ordered suspended as Makati mayor over alleged anomalies in the Makati City Hall Building 2 project.
The SC in 2015 dismissed the Ombudsman's position that the Aguinaldo, or condonation, doctrine cannot be applied in Binay's case when her office issued a preventive suspension against him.
The said doctrine effectively extinguishes a reelected official's administrative liability from a previous term.
"Now, she chides the Office of the President for ordering the preventive suspension of [Carandang], which she characterized as 'a clear affront to the Supreme Court," Calida said. "Look who's talking?"
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday insisted that the executive branch will enforce the suspension as Duterte remains the "chief implementer of the law."
Roque added that Carandang can always seek redress from the high court.
