House to aid Ombudsman in VP Sara probe

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability has expressed cooperation with the preliminary investigation of the Office of the Ombudsman on the alleged P612.5 million corruption case of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Since the Ombudsman has effectively treated our Committee Report as the initiating complaint, we are prepared to fulfill our role as the complainant and ensure the process is based on truth, fairness, and accountability,” committee chairman Manila Rep. Joel Chua said.

“We are not rushing to judgment. But we owe the Filipino people a full and impartial investigation – and we are committed to seeing it through,” he said, adding they will also furnish the Ombudsman with other pieces of evidence such as transcripts.

He believes that the Ombudsman’s decision to conduct a probe parallel to the impeachment trial before the Senate Impeachment Court clearly shows the “strong affirmation of the weight and integrity of the findings submitted by the House.”

Chua also noted the dramatic shift in tone from the Ombudsman.

“Just a few months ago, Ombudsman (Samuel) Martires publicly stated that he saw no grounds to investigate the Vice President. That he now believes otherwise shows that the facts uncovered by our committee could no longer be ignored,” he said.