Carandang dismissal a litmus test for Martires, says Hontiveros

Will newly-installed Ombudsman Samuel Martires fight for the independence of the anti-graft body or will he follow the Malacañang order dismissing Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang?

This was the questioned raised by Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, noting that Carandang’s case is test for the new official.

“This a litmus test for the leadership of newly appointed Ombudsman Samuel Martires,” Hontiveros said in a text message to GMA News Online.

The senator said the Supreme Court has already declared that the Office of the President has no administrative and disciplinary jurisdiction over a deputy ombudsman.

“It's unconstitutional because it violates the Ombudsman's independence,” she said.

She said that in a January 28, 2014 decision, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional Section 8 (2) of the Ombudsman Act (Republic Act 6770).

The provision states that “a Deputy or the Special Prosecutor may be removed from office by the President or any of the grounds provided for the removal of the Ombudsman and after due process.”

“Ang tanong, ipaglalaban ba ng bagong Ombudsman ang integridad at institutional independence ng Office of the Ombudsman?” said Hontiveros.

In a July 30 decision signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Malacañang dismissed Carandang from service months after he disclosed the alleged bank transactions of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family. 

Carandang was dismissed after he was found liable for graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by then-Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption legal counsel and now Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Commissioner Manuelito Luna and lawyer Eligio Mallari as well as Labor Undersecretary Jacinto Paras and former Biliran Representative Glenn Chong. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News