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Morales mum but ready on impending impeachment rap

Philstar.com

November 22, 2017 | 10:53am

Morales mum but ready on impending impeachment rap

This file picture taken on August 23, 2016 shows Philippine Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales gesturing during an interview at the Office of the Ombudsman in Manila. A corruption prosecutor vowed on Sept. 29, 2017 to pursue an investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte's finances despite a veiled warning from the Philippine leader. Noel Celis/AFP

MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales remained mum and unfazed amid the impending impeachment complaint to be filed against her by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.

In a chance interview with reporters after delivering a speech at a university in Manila Wednesday, Morales declined to comment on reports that the VACC would be filing the impeachment complaint against her before the House of Representatives within the week.

“Everybody is at liberty to file any complaint against anybody including me,” Morales instead said.

READ: Morales: I have nothing to hide, nothing to fear

Ferdinand Topacio, the legal counsel of the VACC, earlier told reporters that they would be filing the complaint against Morales this week. He said the charges against Morales would revolve around her office's supposed “inordinate delays” in conducting investigation on several complaints.

The VACC said this inordinate delay on the part of the ombudsman resulted in the dismissal of several high-profile cases before the Sandiganbayan.

Topacio said their impeachment complaint would also cover Morales' alleged partiality in her office's investigation on the 2015 Mamasapano incident, in which more than 60 people including 44 troopers from the Philippine National Police were killed.

READ: It's final: Ombudsman upholds raps vs Aquino over Mamasapano clash

Topacio said Morales rushed the filing of graft and usurpation cases against former President Benigno Aquino III before the Sandiganbayan in order to shield him from graver charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide.

“No comment, I go by the evidence,” Morales said when asked about Topacio's allegation.

Morales likewise refused to comment on the status of her office's investigation on the alleged unexplained wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family.

“I have inhibited myself there and I wouldn't know its status,” she said.

It can be remembered that Morales received backlash from Duterte and his allies after Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang revealed that he was already authorized by Morales to probe Duterte's bank transactions when the latter was the mayor of Davao City.

Carandang also said his office had already obtained bank documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council showing that Duterte and his family have over P1 billion worth of transactions in several banks from 2006 to 2016.

READ: Duterte wants to probe agency investigating his wealth

But in a statement issued after Carandang's statement hit the headlines, the AMLC denied providing any bank records to the ombudsman. The AMLC further said it has yet to evaluate if there is ground to initiate an investigation on Duterte's bank transactions.

This led Duterte to dare Morales to resign from her post for supposedly using illegally obtained documents in her office's investigation.

“I note it,” Morales said when asked about Duterte's call for her to resign.

Confident about 'pork' cases

Meanwhile, Morales said she remains confident on the strength of the cases they filed against several lawmakers in connection with the multibillion-peso pork barrel fund scam.

“We are confident. We have never been more confident about the evidence that we have,” she said.

Morales made the statement after the Sandiganbayan, last week affirmed its September 15 ruling allowing former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada to post bail for his plunder case in connection with the pork scam.

The Sandiganbayan maintained that the ombudsman's prosecution team failed to present any evidence showing that Estrada is the mastermind or the “main plunderer” in the case.

“We go to court with our evidence. We find probable cause. It's the Sandiganbayan which has its own assessment of evidence, we can't control them. We only see to it that our evidence is highlighted,” Morales said.

Morales said “the panel of investigators and prosecutors are still meeting” on whether to challenge the Sandiganbayan's decision on Estrada's bail before the Supreme Court.

Aside from Estrada, also facing cases in connection with the alleged misuse of their Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel are former Sens. Ramon Revilla Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile as well as several former and incumbent congressmen together with the alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

Revilla and Napoles remain in detention while Enrile was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2015.