Ombudsman Martires vows impartiality on cases involving Duterte, family
NEWLY appointed Ombudsman Samuel Martires has vowed to be impartial on cases that would involve President Rodrigo Duterte and his family.
Martires made the assurance when he visited the Office of the Ombudsman, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte announced his appointment.
“If the evidence will show that there is probable cause for the filing of charges against any member of the family, why not? That is the reason why I was appointed here,” Martires, a Supreme Court associate justice who was supposed to retire in January 2017, told reporters.
“But if there is not enough evidence, I hope the public will also accept that [fact],” said Martires, who will serve a fixed term of seven years as Ombudsman.
Martires replaces Conchita Carpio-Morales who will retire next year and whom the President threatened repeatedly after she ordered an investigation into the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the President and his family stemming from a plunder complaint filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th, which was filed before Duterte won the Presidency in May 2016.
The Dutertes were eventually cleared but based on the Ombudsman’s records, the President’s son and former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte is still under investigation for alleged violations of Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; An Act Declaring Forfeiture in Favor of the State Any Property Found to Have Been Unlawfully Acquired by Any; Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, Grave Misconduct and Serious Dishonesty.
The young Duterte has been linked to the P64-million smuggling of “shabu” into the country in 2017 from China.
He has denied the allegation. LLANESCA T. PANTI
The post Ombudsman Martires vows impartiality on cases involving Duterte, family appeared first on The Manila Times Online.