THE Office of the Executive Secretary has formally charged and placed Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang under 90-day preventive suspension for grave misconduct and grave dishonesty, Malacañang said on Monday, January 29.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said Carandang was charged and ordered suspended for "misuse of confidential information and disclosure of false information."
Carandang, who is leading the Ombudsman's investigation into the alleged hidden wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte and family, revealed last year that he had obtained copies of Duterte's bank account records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
The AMLC documents were similar to documents released by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who alleged that the President made bank transactions worth billions of pesos. The AMLC had denied being the "source of the documents" about Duterte's bank accounts.
Roque said the Office of the Executive Secretary's decision against Carandang was in pursuant to the administrative complaint filed by lawyers Manuel Luna and Eligio Mallari in October 2017, urging the Office of the President to remove Carandang for divulging confidential information about Duterte and his family's alleged hidden wealth.
"The Office of the Executive Secretary has formally charged Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur H. Carandang for the following: grave misconduct and grave dishonesty for misuse of confidential information and disclosing false information," Roque told a press conference.
"Furthermore, the Office of the Executive Secretary placed under day preventive suspension Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur H. Carandang for a period of 90 days, effective immediately upon receipt of this order," he added.
Roque said AMLC's denial that it was the source of the bank documents proved that Duterte's bank records were "not authenticated."
He added that the evidence against the President was "wrong and misleading."
"So the charges stemmed from unauthorized disclosure of confidential information which AMLC clarified did not come from them, which AMLC also said were wrong and misleading," he added.
Asked if the executive branch could order Carandang's suspension, the presidential spokesperson said: "Only the Ombudsman is impeachable. The Deputy Ombudsmen are not impeachable. They are subject to disciplinary powers of the Chief Executive."
The Ombudsman investigation into Duterte's wealth stemmed from a plunder complaint filed by Trillanes in May 2016 alleging that the President’s bank transactions amounted to P2.4 billion in 2006 to 2015. The funds were allegedly accumulated from illegal activities. (VoxPop Philippines)
