MALACAÑANG maintained Tuesday, January 30, that the Office of the President has the jurisdiction to charge and suspend Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte can wield his administrative disciplinary authority over a deputy ombudsman like Carandang.
"The assertion of the Office of the President (is that) all government officials, except impeachable officers and the judiciary, are subject to the disciplinary powers of the President. The Supreme Court has many decisions regarding that," he told state-run dzRb.
Roque made the statement amid concerns that the 90-day preventive suspension imposed on Carandang was in violation of the Supreme Court's 2014 ruling, which invalidated the President's power to discipline a deputy ombudsman.
The Office of the Executive Secretary ordered the suspension of Carandang after he was found guilty of grave misconduct and grave dishonesty when he released Duterte's bank records.
Carandang was tasked to head the anti-graft body's investigation against the President, who was accused by his staunch critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of accumulating hidden wealth worth billions of pesos.
Duterte's office found probable cause to suspend Carandang for disclosing "confidential" and "false" information about Duterte's bank accounts.
Section 8(2) of Ombudsman Act or Republic Act 6770 states that "A Deputy, or the Special Prosecutor, may be removed from office by the President for any of the grounds provided for the removal of the Ombudsman, and after due process."
The Supreme Court on September 4,2012 initially denied the petition to declare Section 8(2) of Ombudsman Law as unconstitutional.
The high court, however, reversed its ruling on January 28, 2014 and ruled that it is "unconstitutional" for a President to impose disciplinary action over a deputy ombudsman as it violates the anti-graft body's independence.
Roque, in a press conference in Lanao del Sur province, asserted that the President can discipline Carandang.
The presidential spokesman stressed that the anti-graft official could contest the Office of the Executive Secretary's decision by seeking a legal remedy before a competent court.
He added that the suspension order against Carandang would remain "immediately executory," unless the court issues a temporary restraining order.
"Without a TRO from the court, that (ruling against Carandang) is immediately executory. That's actually up to him. We will implement the order. If he wants to go to court, because I understand he is saying it's unconstitutional, let him," he said.
"But we will not go to court because our reading is the Office of the President has the power to discipline him," he added. (VoxPop Philippines)
