THE Office of the Ombudsman is observing confidentiality on its investigation against President Rodrigo Duterte and his family on their alleged hidden wealth.
Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang, who is leading the probe, issued the statement following Duterte's threat that he would create a commission to investigate also the officials of the anti-graft body and he would first go after Carandang.
Carandang said his office "has observed confidentiality in the Ombudsman investigation on the complaint against then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, which complaint was filed, in fact, even before the 2016 elections."
He also explained the circumstances on the supposed disclosure of the alleged records of the bank transactions of the President and his family allegedly coming from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Carandang said that he was "reading through the documents shown to him by the media during the ambush interview, in response to media's inquiry on the status of the complaint after more than a year since its filing and in stating that a request was made to AMLC as part of the regular investigative process."
Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo has warned Carandang that he could face administrative sanctions for disclosing information against Duterte while the investigation has been ongoing. (SDR/VoxPop Philippines)