Selfie with Ombudsman? No way if you’re a drug lord

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales answers queries during the Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum held at the Inquirer office, Tuesday. INQUIRER PHOTO / JOAN BONDOC

Want a selfie with the Ombudsman? Fine. Just be sure you’re not a drug lord.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said she has become more careful in having herself photographed with other people, following hard lessons from embattled Sen. Leila de Lima, whose picture with confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa has been used to implicate her in the illicit trade.

“You know, after Leila de Lima said she was not aware if Mr. Kerwin Espinosa was a drug lord or not, I was already careful,” Morales said on Tuesday after guesting at the Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum.

“So everyone who wants to ask a selfie with me, I’d say “I hope you’re not a drug lord,” the country’s feisty chief graft-buster said. “They take it in jest. I won’t say that if it wasn’t.”

Morales said she applied the same filtering process in her appearance at the University of the Philippines College of Law alumni homecoming last month.

“Like at the UP Law. I knew they’re alumni of UP, I was just making them laugh. Otherwise, if I do that outside, people might slap me,” said the sharp-witted Morales, who finished her law degree at the premier state university.

Guilt by picture-taking

De Lima’s photograph with Espinosa and his wife, taken earlier this year in Baguio City, has been used by her accusers to prove her links with the drug lord.

Espinosa had testified at the Senate that the picture was taken during their purported meeting, when he allegedly handed over cash to the then still aspiring lawmaker to support her senatorial bid.

De Lima has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying the photo was just one of the countless shots taken of her during the campaign period.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch critic of the President just like De Lima, last week hit what he called “guilt by picture-taking”—or the use of a photograph to bolster allegations against an accused. He noted that Mr. Duterte himself had posed for a photo and even shook hands with businessman Peter Lim, an alleged drug supplier.

Morales’ prerequisite for photo opportunities may well be necessary for the official these days, noting that her detractors were “gathering grounds” to impeach her.

She has welcomed the prospect, saying her critics would only “be disappointed” as she is not one to cower from such challenge.

Several administration allies are said to be dissatisfied with her performance, citing her alleged favor for officials from the past administration facing charges before her office.

She maintained that she was doing her job as Ombudsman well, noting the agency’s current conviction rate of roughly 72 percent.

Morales held judgment when asked to assess how the Duterte administration has fared in the antigraft campaign during its first six months.

“The President had stated early on that. After the drugs problem, he would focus on corruption problems. So, given the short period of time that the administration has taken over, it is not fair to assess whether they are focused on anticorruption problems. But, at all events, he (Mr. Duterte) had always said that he is against corruption,” she said.