Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales have mastered “the art of
selective justice.”
That is how President Rodrigo Roa Duterte accused the
current Ombudsman, he even warned Carpio her hold in office is “very, very
precarious.”
It would seem the President has not forgotten Carpio’s
tirades against him accusing the President as “encouraging the killing of
suspected drug suspects.”
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| Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales,The President clains that she should only serve the unexpired term of her predecessor, and that in handling of cases- she is soft on friends and hard on enemies (photo credit to cnn phils) |
The president instructed members of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines and the Philippine National Police, to first seek his permission
before appearing in any of the probes of the Ombudsman.
Morales said about this: “Anong pakialam niya? Under the law, we have subpoena powers. We
have orders for particular officials including police and soldiers to show up
or to file pleadings. If they don't file pleadings, that's their lookout.”
From then on, the two have been looking horns with each
other, Morales whose brother is Sara Duterte Carpio’s father-in-law.
Duterte slammed Morales for her alleged bias in handling
complaints in her office, saying that the ombudsman was soft on friends and
hard on enemies.
President, warned Morales that her hold in
office is flimsy since she was just supposed to serve out the remainder of the
term of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned even before her impeachment trial could proceed
in the Senate in 2011.
“That it has not been questioned until now, I
do not know why,” the president said in a speech before newly-appointed
government officials in Malacañan palace.
President Duterte adds, that Ombudsman Morales
has not been able to live up to her constitutional mandate. *
“[The Office of the Ombudsman] cannot act on complaints with
a cold neutrality of an impartial tribunal which is basically required in due
process,” Duterte said. “It seems that the Office of the Ombudsman has mastered
the art of selective justice, harsh on some, soft on others, even when they all
suffer from similar and analogous circumstances, slow to act on complaints
against the friendly, but quick to decide against perceived hostiles.”
Duterte, has urged the Ombudsman to have no fear nor favor
in dispensing justice.
He said: “When I took my oath of office on June
30, 2016, I said that one principle of governance I abide with in running the
affairs of my administration is contained in the saying, ‘I have no friends to
serve. I have no enemies to harm. I am beholden to no one save my conscience.’”
Duterte said he detests the alleged bias of the
Office of the Ombudsman in dealing with cases before it.
“The lack of moral courage to do what is right
and act beyond those two twin failings ends up in inequitable decisions.
Scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours is how some people describe it. It is
to me detestable,” he said. *
Reports from Philstar
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