Anti-graft official charged, suspended

The Office of the Executive Secretary has formally charged and placed Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang under 90-day preventive suspension for grave misconduct and grave dishonesty, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said Carandang was charged and ordered suspended for “misuse of confidential information and disclosure of false information.”

Carandang, who is leading the Ombudsman’s investigation into the alleged hidden wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte and family, revealed last year that he had obtained copies of Duterte’s bank account records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

The AMLC documents were similar to documents released by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who alleged that the President made bank transactions worth billions of pesos.

The AMLC had denied being the “source of the documents” about Duterte’s bank accounts.

Roque said the Office of the Executive Secretary’s decision against Carandang stemmed from the administrative complaint filed by lawyers Manuel Luna and Eligio Mallari in October 2017, urging the Office of the President to remove Carandang for divulging confidential information about Duterte and his family’s alleged hidden wealth.

Roque said AMLC’s denial that it was the source of the bank documents proved that Duterte’s bank records were “not authenticated.”

He added that the evidence against the President was “wrong and misleading.”

“So the charges stemmed from unauthorized disclosure of confidential information which AMLC clarified did not come from them, which AMLC also said were wrong and misleading,” he added.

Asked if the executive branch could order Carandang’s suspension, the presidential spokesperson said: “Only the Ombudsman is impeachable. The Deputy Ombudsmen are not impeachable. They are subject to disciplinary powers of the Chief Executive.” / RUTH ABBEY GITA / SUNSTAR PHILIPPINES