Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Published: 8:18 p.m., Aug. 29, 2017 | Updated: 12:40 a.m., Aug. 30, 2017
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday slammed Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales for her “selective justice.”
“It seems that the Office of the Ombudsman has mastered the art of selective justice – hard on some, soft on others,” Duterte said in a speech before newly appointed government officials in Malacañang.
He accused the Office of the Ombudsman of being “slow to act on complaints against the friendly but quick to decide against perceived hostiles.”
He said the office could not “act on complaints with cold neutrality and impartiality.”
Duterte also criticized the office for its slow handling of the cases against lawmakers implicated in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles, which was exposed during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
“Bakit ang Ombudsman, matagal na siya diyan, natapos na si Aquino, why can’t they just wind up the cases against the senators?” he said.
Duterte also cited the cases of detained former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who are still detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who was also charged for the alleged misuse of his pork barrel funds, was granted bail by the high court in 2015.
“If you allow a certain person to post bail, there is absolutely no grounds, legal or otherwise, bakit ’yung iba hindi mo gawin?” Duterte asked.
He also said he was saddened by the decision of the Office of Ombudsman to file graft charges against Sen. Gregorio Honasan II over the alleged misuse of his pork barrel funds.
“The latest is Gringo Honsasan. Naawa ako sa kanya kasi hindi klaro eh,” he said.
The President also questioned why Morales was still in office when she should only serve the remaining term of Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned from her post in April 2011 before her impeachment trial.
“And may I add, your hold to the office is very, very precarious,” Duterte said. “You are supposed to serve the remaining terms of the guy who resigned, not to a full term. That is very clear under the law. But it has not been questioned until now. I do not know why.”
Morales was appointed in 2010 by then President Benigno Aquino III.
On June 29, lawyer Rey Natahniel Ifurung filed a perition before the Supreme Court questioning Morales’s stay as the Ombudsman, saying she should have vacated his post in February 2015, the expiration of the term of Gutierrez. /atm