‘Duterte wealth probe can still be reopened’
President Duterte is not totally off the hook yet when it comes to allegations that he has a fortune in ill-gotten wealth deposited in several bank accounts.
A highly placed source in the Office of the Ombudsman said the probe on Duterte’s alleged wealth can be reopened any time if new evidence comes up.
“The internal rules on factfinding allows the re-filing of a
complaint,” the source told The STAR on condition of anonymity.
Last Tuesday, Solicitor General Jose Calida announced that the ombudsman has terminated its factfinding investigation on the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Duterte.
Calida presented to the media a letter from Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang confirming that the fact-finding probe was “closed and terminated” as of Nov. 29 last year.
Carandang in September last year said his office had launched a fact-finding investigation on the plunder complaint filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV against Duterte in May 2016.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales had inhibited herself from the investigation, citing “conflict of interest” as her nephew, lawyer Manases Carpio, is the husband of presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
In his complaint, Trillanes alleged that Duterte, during the latter’s term as Davao City mayor, employed about 11,000 ghost workers. Trillanes said more than P2.4 billion flowed into Duterte’s bank accounts from 2006 to 2015 because of this scheme.
But the source from the ombudsman confirmed that the fact-finding probe was ordered closed and terminated as “there is insufficient evidence to proceed further to preliminary investigation.”
The source, however, said under the ombudsman’s internal rules, “Trillanes is allowed to refile” his complaint, apart from any other individuals who may wish to file their own.
The source explained that re-filing the complaint against Duterte over the same issue would not constitute a violation of the constitutional rule against double jeopardy as the subject of the investigation has yet to face formal proceedings.
“No, double jeopardy doesn’t attach in the factfinding investigation,” the source said.
The ombudsman’s factfinding probe is the stage when field investigation officers gather evidence to support a formal complaint. If there is sufficient evidence, the ombudsman proceeds with the preliminary investigation, during which the respondent in the complaint would be given the chance to rebut the allegations against him.