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Wednesday, October 4, 2017
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MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman investigation into the wealth of Rodrigo Duterte and his family is part of deliberate efforts to discredit the President, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Past statements from the anti-graft body that were “against the facts” and “misleading” confirm this, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a Palace briefing.
“The Office of the Ombudsman was being economical with the truth when it said it had observed confidentiality in its investigation of the graft complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte,” he said.
Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang said on Monday they are observing confidentiality in their investigation into the Dutertes.
Earlier, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales inhibited herself from the investigation, being the aunt of Atty. Manases Carpio, husband of presidential daughter Sara, mayor of Davao City.
Carandang had said they received Duterte’s bank transaction records – allegedly amounting to P1 billion – from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
But on Monday, he claimed he was “reading through the documents shown to him by the media during the ambush interview, in response to media’s inquiry on the status of the complaint.”
Abella said these all go against the facts. Morales already declared, “As to the document in its possession, the Office stands by its word,” said the spokesperson.
“Second, Carandang’s claim is contrary to the earlier statement of the (AMLC) secretariat that he sent a letter dated Aug. 17, 2017 to initiate investigation of President Duterte’s alleged bank accounts,” Abella said.
In a statement released Sept. 28, the AMLC denied providing the Ombudsman a report on the bank records of the Dutertes.
“There is indeed a deliberate effort to discredit the President, mislead the public and create popular outrage against the duly elected chief executive. The public’s mind seems to be being set,” Abella said.
“The Office of the Ombudsman is showing its true political colors,” he added. “We must remind them that it is an independent and anti-graft body that is supposed to conduct an impartial and fair investigation.”
However, Abella clarified that the Palace is not pointing an accusing finger on all personnel of the Office of the Ombudsman but only at certain individuals.
He added: “Our point is that some people may be playing into the hands of certain political forces. There is no accusation here. We are just describing the landscape.” (PNA)
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