President Rodrigo Duterte slammed on Tuesday the Office of the Ombudsman for "selective justice."
In a speech in Malacanang, Duterte wondered why complaints against some senators during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III for their alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam are not yet resolved, while there are those who have long been detained.
"Everyone calls for due process and the [dispensation] of justice without fear or favor. But sad to say, recent events show that no less than the Office of the Ombudsman, which is supposedly the embodiment of everything that is just, fair and reasonable, has not exactly lived up to its constitutional mandate," he said.
"The Office of the Ombudsman rightly stresses the importance of due process of law. Yet it cannot act on complaints with the cold neutrality of an impartial tribunal, which is basically required in due process. It seems that the Office of the Ombudsman has mastered the art of selective justice," he said.
Duterte cited the case of Senator Gregorio Honasan who is also facing charges for his alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.
He said he felt sorry for Honasan whom he met recently in Malacanang.
The President also questioned Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales' continued stay on her post.
"And may I add, your hold to the office is very, very precarious. 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," he said.
Carpio replaced Merceditas Gutierrez who quit from her post after the impeachment complaint pushed through at the House of Representatives in 2011.
A lawyer filed a petition last June before the Supreme Court to declare the top positions at the Office of the Ombudsman vacant because the current occupants were allegedly overstaying for two years.
Lawyer Rey Nathaniel Ifurung averred that Section 8(3) of the Ombudsman Act of 1989 (Republic Act 6770) providing a fresh seven-year term for the successor of the incumbent Ombudsman and his deputies should be declared as unconstitutional as it contravenes the other provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
He claimed that like any other constitutional offices, current appointees at the Office of the Ombudsman shall serve only the unexpired term of the predecessor.
Under the present set-up, Carpio's seven-year term at the anti-graft body will end in July 2018.
Duterte expressed hope that the Ombudsman would go beyond the friendship bonds and adapt the due process principle as a governing rule in the performance of its constitutional mandate.
"I implore you (Morales), let justice be done. It is not yet late in the day to do that. Let the remaining months of your incumbency be truly reflective of your mandate to do justice to everyone without favour or bias," he said.
Carpio is an aunt of Duterte's son-in-law, Maneses Carpio, husband of presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. Celerina Monte/DMS
