Ombudsman denies giving selective justice

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Thursday denied the claims of President Rodrigo Duterte that her office is biased in handling high-profile cases such as those related to the alleged multi-billion peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.

In an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, Morales said the Office of the Ombudsman is mandated by law to prosecute high-profile cases involving high-ranking government officials first.

"We give priority to high-profile cases, [high-ranking] government officials who hold supervisory positions or cases that involve huge amounts of money or big property," Morales said.

"Sinasabi nila na selective justice daw kami, hindi naman selective kasi as I was saying, nung pumasok yung majority of cases at that present time was [against] the opposition during the past administration. In the same manner na ngayon, yung opposition in the past administration is now the majority," the 2016 Ramon Magsaysay awardee added.

Duterte on Wednesday accused Morales of dishing out "selective justice" as he mentioned the cases now being faced by some former and incumbent senators, among them former Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senator Gringo Honasan. 

Duterte said Morales is "slow to act on complaints against the 'friendly' but quick to decide against perceived 'hostiles'."

However, Morales said the cases against Estrada, and former Senators Bong Revilla and Juan Ponce Enrile were based on affidavits submitted by businesswoman and alleged PDAF scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

"I recall that when I was new there [at the Ombudsman] and the PDAF cases came out, Miss Napoles came out with an affidavit targeting three senators, they are Senators Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla," she said.

"Given the fact that there is already this testimonial claim against them, nauna yan definitely, hindi ka na naghirap maghanap ng ebidensya of course on top of what you gathered," she added.

Estrada, Revilla, and Enrile are facing plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan for their alleged involvement in the PDAF scam.

The Ombudsman, meanwhile, recently filed a graft complaint against Honasan at the anti-graft court. His arraignment is scheduled on September 22. — RSJ/KVD, GMA News