Ombudsman: Stay faithful to Charter

KAWIT, Cavite—Everything remains to be seen as to how President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will run his administration,  Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said on Sunday.

Morales said she trusted that Duterte would “metamorphose” from the ruthless leader that he always sought to picture himself whenever he talked about the way he would deal with criminals to a President who would uphold the Constitution.

Leading the celebration of the 118th anniversary of Philippine independence here, Morales said she believed in the reforms that Duterte had vowed to introduce once he assumed office.

But to say that “change is coming” is an “understatement,” Morales said, “given the promises that [Duterte] has been saying through [the] media.”

Duterte, known for talking tough and using gutter language even in front of the cameras, was elected on an anticrime platform that included a merciless fight against organized crime, especially drug trafficking.

In her speech, Morales said the Philippines, “with a relatively young history of freedom,” had undergone “rebirths” brought about by war.

Independence, she said, is not only defined by resistance to foreign aggression or self-rule.

“Threats to our independence come, however, not only in the form of conflict involving our territory but also in indolence, apathy, immorality, intolerance and greed, all of which can be encapsulated in the common term ‘corruption,’” she said.

“Corruption, without doubt, is a clear and present danger,” she added.

Morales, who has indicted several officials involved in graft and corruption, said the Ombudsman remained the government’s “main artillery against corruption,” as enshrined in the Constitution.

“Let us, at all time, remain faithful to our Constitution, to our independence as a nation, and to one another as Filipinos,” she said.

But Morales, who earlier said her office would investigate the plunder complaint filed against Duterte, said she was not referring to anyone.

She said she was “keeping faith” that the rule of law would prevail in the Philippines.

“At this time, it is not opportune for me to say he (Duterte) is not doing the right thing. [Duterte’s pronouncements were] his prepresidential assumptions. He says he will metamorphose. Let’s see if he will still stick to what he is saying,” Morales said later in an interview.

“Let’s see how he’s going to rule us, how he’s going to carry out the mandate that he has. Let him assume office first,” she said.