Let Ombudsman handle Binay case, legal experts say

Let the Office of the Ombudsman handle the case of Vice President Jejomar Binay, legal experts said on Thursday following the Senate’s plan to revive its probe.

According to former University of the East Law Dean Amado Valdez, the Office of the Ombudsman is the body constitutionally mandated to probe or prosecute erring government officials and employees.

“The Ombudsman can continue its investigation. It has broad powers to compel witnesses to testify and compel production of documents, which will more than serve the purpose,” he said.

He added that such plan could leave no impression to the public that the investigation was politically motivated.

Echoing Valdez, former University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Pacifico Agabin said “let the Ombudsman do the probing.”

The Senate probe on Binay and his family ran for more than a year, starting in August 2014. RC