THE OMBUDSMAN cannot pursue a corruption case against Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio unless she is first removed from office, a congressman said on Monday.
The anti-graft body’s charter prevents it from filing a case against Ms. Duterte, Manila Rep. Joel R. Chua told a media briefing.
“The President has immunity. But as far as I know, under the Ombudsman’s charter, they can investigate anyone except impeachable officers,” he said in Filipino. “That means you have to be impeached first before any case can be filed.”
Section 21 of Republic Act No. 6770 states that the anti-graft body holds disciplinary authority over all government officials, except those who may be removed by impeachment. Under the 1987 Constitution, the President, Vice President, Supreme Court Justices and officials of constitutional bodies are subject to impeachment
Ms. Duterte is expected to face an impeachment trial in late July after congressmen impeached her in February due to allegations of budget anomalies to amassing unusual wealth and threatening the lives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his wife and the Speaker.
“Since the Vice-President is an impeachable officer, the Ombudsman should allow the impeachment process to proceed first before initiating a criminal investigation,” Ephraim B. Cortez, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, said in a Viber message.
The anti-graft body can only investigate for the sake of filing an impeachment case against impeachable officers still in office, said former Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. Carpio.
“The Ombudsman will investigate only for the purpose of filing an impeachment complaint,” he said in a Viber message.
Mr. Chua said Ms. Duterte cannot be charged with criminal cases due to a 2005 Supreme Court decision, which cited a 1995 disbarment case against an Ombudsman that required impeachable officers to be terminated first before being held to answer criminally or administratively.
The case cited by the congressman is not applicable to Ms. Duterte’s situation, said Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University Policy Center, noting that the circumstances surrounding the mentioned cases do not contain elements that would compromise her eligibility to remain in office.
“A disbarment case just cannot precede an impeachment case because it will lead to an unconstitutional scenario,” he said, noting that a disbarment will in effect remove the Ombudsman from office.
“Only a lawyer can be an Ombudsman. If he is disbarred, then he can no longer assume the office.”
In the Vice President’s case, however, Mr, Yusingco argued that Ms. Duterte can still be charged with cases by the anti-graft body as an indictment does not jeopardize her holding of the office.
“A criminal indictment can be filed against her, and she can be detained or imprisoned. But removal from office is not part of the consequences of a criminal case,” he said.
“On the other hand, an impeachment case doesn’t involve any criminal liability. Therefore, a criminal indictment and an impeachment trial can proceed simultaneously.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
