MALACAÑANG has filed administrative charges against Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang and suspended him for 90 days for spreading false information about President Rodrigo Duterte’s bank accounts, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Monday.
In a press briefing, Roque said the Office of Executive Secretary formally charged Carandang with grave misconduct and grave dishonesty for misuse of confidential information and disclosing false information.
“He was given 10 days to respond on why he should not be suspended,” Roque said.
The case stems from the complaint filed by Manuelito Luna and Eligio Mallari against Carandang in October 2017.
Roque said Carandang, an appointee of former President Benigno Aquino III, based his information on documents allegedly provided to him by the Anti-Money Laundering Council and showing that President Duterte had more than P1 billion in his bank account.
“It contains more or less the same details as the report submitted by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV before the Senate but this was strongly denied by the President,” Roque said.
“Carandang is now facing grave misconduct and grave dishonesty for misuse of confidential information and disclosing false information in violation of Section 3-E of RA 3019 for causing any undue injury to any party including the government or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits,” Roque said.
He noted that AMLC denied providing any report to the Office of the Ombudsman on Duterte’s bank transactions. While it did receive Carandang’s request to look into Duterte’s bank records, AMLC said it had yet to evaluate that request.
“We have categorically stated before that the AMLC is not the source of the documents and information attached by Senator Antonio F.
Trillanes IV in his complaint regarding the alleged bank accounts of President Rodrigo Duterte,” Roque said.
Carandang last year claimed that AMLC documents showed Duterte’s bank transactions came to more than P1 billion.
But a day after Carandang made this claim, the AMLC issued a statement denying it had issued any such documents to the deputy ombudsman.
Roque said that although the Office of the Ombudsman is an independent body, only the Ombudsman is an impeachable official with immunity from suit while in office. This meant deputy ombudsmen were subject to disciplinary powers of the Chief Executive.