Palace: Ombuds shows ‘true color’

MANILA - The Office of the Ombudsman has shown its "true color" following its investigation into the alleged hidden wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella claimed that the antigraft body appeared to be lying because of the conflicting remarks issued by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang regarding the copies of bank records of Duterte and his family.

Amid the Ombudsman's probe into Duterte's alleged undeclared wealth, Abella reminded it to practice impartiality and ensure that it would not be used by "interested political parties" to undermine the President.

"The Office of the Ombudsman is showing its true political color. We must remind them that it is an independent, anti-graft body that is supposed to conduct an impartial and fair investigation," Abella said in a press conference.

"It should not play into the hands of those who cannot accept the fact that the President won in the 2016 election. It should not be a party to a demolition job. We have seen this before, this is déjà vu," he added.

Abella's statement came after the President expressed confidence that the "illegally obtained" evidence gathered by the

Ombudsman would not be accepted in the proper court.

He also made the statement shortly after lawyers Manuelito Luna and Eligio Mallari filed before the Office of the President an administrative case against Carandang, Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Rodolfo Elman, and members of the fact-finding investigation team of Ombudsman's office in Mindanao.

Earlier in the day, Luna and Mallari filed an administrative complaint against Carandang and other respondents, urging the Office of the President to remove the Ombudsman's officials from office over alleged "false and malicious" evidence against Duterte.

Morales has assigned Carandang to lead the investigation regarding the President and his family's alleged billions of pesos allegedly amassed from illegal activities and kept in various bank accounts.

Duterte has repeatedly denied that he has ill-gotten wealth and pledged to resign if his critics are able to prove the allegations hurled against him. SunStar Philippines