SC rejects bids to oust Morales as Ombudsman

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday sustained the legality of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales’ appointment for a seven-year term in 2011 as the country’s primary graft buster.

In a press briefing in Baguio City, Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te said the justices voted unanimously to throw out petitions separately filed by lawyers Al Vitangcol III and Rey Nathaniel Ifurung seeking the ouster of Morales.

Vitangcol, indicted by the Ombudsman for graft during his tenure as Metro Rail Transit Line 3 general manager, claimed that Morales merely served the unexpired term of her predecessor, Merceditas Gutierrez, and should have stepped down on Nov. 30, 2012.

Ifurung said the provision in the Ombudsman Act of 1989 that was being cited to keep Morales in office was unconstitutional. —Marlon Ramos