Palace-Ombudsman row won’t lead to constitutional crisis —solon

The standoff between Malacañang and the Office of the Ombudsman over the suspension of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang will not head to a constitutional crisis, even if the latter seeks a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court, Leyte Rep. Vicente "Ching" Veloso said Sunday.

Veloso, chairman of House subcommittee on judicial reforms and vice chairperson of the House Committee on Justice, said that Section 8 (2) of Republic Act No. 6770 or The Ombudsman Act of 1989 should be followed on whether the President can suspend Carandang or not, despite a 2014 SC ruling that rendered unconstitutional the administrative disciplinary action of the President over deputy ombudsmen.

"Kailangan sundin lang natin yung batas, kung ano ang batas, 'yun ang sundin natin...Nandiyan sa Section 8 (2), nakalagay, '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'... We are not supposed to interpret any other way," he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

Veloso also said that he would "assume" that due process was observed in the  suspension of Carandang, adding that the "right to appoint carries with it, the right to dismiss."

"I would assume na dito kay overall deputy ombudsman, na-observe ang due process dahil wala namang reklamo na he was removed or he was being suspended without due process," he said.

Malacañang, last week, put Carandang under preventive suspension for 90 days and has also been charged with grave misconduct and grave dishonesty for unauthorized disclosures of the alleged bank transactions of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family.

His suspension was immediately executory in the absence of a temporary restraining order from a court according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr.

The suspension order stemmed from the complaints separately filed last year by lawyers Manuelito Luna and Eligio Mallari and former lawmakers Glenn Chiong and Jacinto Paras.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, however, said that she won't enforce the disciplinary action against Carandang as it was "unconstitutional" and posed a threat to the anti-graft body's independence.

Carandang announced on Sept. 27, 2017 that the Office of the Ombudsman has started a probe into the wealth of the First Family based on the complaint of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Trillanes claimed that the basis for the complaint against Duterte were bank records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

Carandang then claimed that the Office of the Ombudsman is in possession of bank records that show the flow of money through deposits and withdrawals from Duterte's sons, former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and Sebastian "Baste" Duterte, and his joint accounts with his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

The AMLC, however, denied the following day that it had released such documents to the Ombudsman. —LBG, GMA News