MALACAÑANG on Wednesday, May 9, welcomed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte's son, former Davao City mayor Paolo "Pulong" Duterte, even after the case lodged against him over the P6.4-billion shabu shipment has already been dismissed.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the executive branch respects the anti-graft body's jurisdiction to conduct an independent investigation on any government official, including the presidential son.
The younger Duterte resigned as vice mayor of Davao City following the controversy linking him to the smuggling of P6.4-billion worth of shabu from China.
"The Office of the Ombudsman has the power to investigate on its own and initiate proper action against public officers," Roque said in a statement.
"We see this as part of the Ombudsman's constitutional mandate to ensure public accountability," he added.
Roque's statement came a day after Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said that the younger Duterte was not yet off the hook, as he is the subject of her office's preliminary investigation.
On Tuesday, May 9, Morales confirmed that the former Davao City vice mayor is facing a "pending" probe before the Ombudsman.
Morales, who has inhibited from the cases involving the Duterte family, did not spill further details on the pending investigation against the younger Duterte.
Her revelation came just days after the Ombudsman's special fact-finding panel cleared the presidential son and his brother-in-law, lawyer Manases Carpio, of liability in the P6.-4-billion shabu shipment case.
Both Duterte and Caprio were accused of being behind the so-called "Davao Group," which was allegedly behind the smuggled shipments at the bureau.
On May 2, the Ombudsman's panel dismissed the allegations hurled against Duterte and Carpio for "lack of basis." (VoxPop Philippines)
