Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Monday slammed Edna Batacan, a former lawyer of then Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte, for saying the Office of the Ombudsman was graft-ridden.
“God forbid” that Batacan gets appointed as the next Ombudsman, Morales said, adding Batacan dug her own grave when she told the Judicial and Bar Council that she was a victim of corruption when she was a lawyer at the Office of the Ombudsman.
“You have to have competence, honesty, industry,” Morales said.
“If she has all of these, go ahead, please. But by all indications, my God. Look at her interview. You be the judge,” Morales said.
Batacan told the JBC that the Office of the Ombudsman charged a “parking fee” in cases under preliminary investigation.
But Morales said Batacan implicated herself as part of the corruption within the Ombudsman.
“If you are a party to corruption, you are corrupt yourself,” Morales said.
She said Batacan’s supposed involvement in corruption was “complemented” by a charge filed by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, who accused her of asking and getting P8 million from a mutual client of theirs to pay an ombudsman in exchange for the dismissal of the case.
The case against Topacio’s client was dismissed, Morales said.
She warned Batacan and Topacio never to implicate her.
“I hope they are not referring to me because I am going to make it difficult for their them if they say that money was meant for me,” Morales said.
Topacio earlier wrote the JBC to block Batacan’s appointment.
Morales, who will retire on July 26, refused to comment on who would best to replace her.
“I’m not going to give an opinion on who should come to take my place,” she said.