Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB / INQUIRER.net
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon yesterday said doubts on the term of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales must be brought to the court by the Office of the Solicitor General.
“This is a legal issue. If President Duterte really believes that there is a question on the term of office, the SolGen can file a quo warranto case before the court, meaning he will question the continued discharge of functions of the office,” Drilon told reporters in an interview yesterday.
Accusing Morales of practicing selective justice, President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday reminded the Ombudsman of her “very precarious” position.
He said Morales was only supposed to serve the remaining term of her predecessor, who resigned in 2011 to dodge impeachment proceedings.
Morales was appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III in 2011 to a full term of seven years, replacing Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned after serving for six years.
Drilon on Wednesday suggested that if the Duterte administration was really serious about this, the matter must be brought to court.
“The SolGen is the one authorized to file a quo warranto. Not every citizen or Tom, Dick and Harry can file a quo warranto case. It has to be the SolGen,” he said.
But he added that it was obvious that Morales’ term was for a full seven years. Her term will end in July 2018.
Drilon also noted that no expressed provision on the Office of the Ombudsman states that an appointee who assumes the unexpired portion of the term shall only serve such period as distinguished from other constitutional officials such as in the Commission on Audit and the Commission on Elections.