Former Ombudsman: ‘Enough basis’ to file a case against Duterte

Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has asserted that there is “enough basis” to file a case against former President Rodrigo Duterte. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Roby Alampay, for his One News program Roundtable, Carpio-Morales questioned the delay in taking a legal action against the former Philippine leader.

“If they want to file a case, do it now. There is enough basis. Admission against interest — on that score alone, you can start initiating a preliminary investigation,” she said.

The House has been conducting hearings on Duterte’s brutal war on drugs for months now, gathering testimonies from key figures such as the families of the victims, retired police colonel Royina Garma, and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, among others. Despite numerous hearings, no significant progress has been made.

“Dapat gumising na sila to do something concrete. Not just, you know, grandstanding, asking repetitive questions,” Carpio-Morales remarked.

Despite her criticisms, Carpio-Morales said she is willing to give lawmakers the benefit of the doubt as the hearings continue. “Tignan natin what course of action they’ll take. But even Duterte says up to now, ‘File a case against me’ diba? He’s goading them to file the case against him, but up to now nga wala,” she said.

“I mean, you know, all you have to do is initiate a preliminary investigation. May case build-up na ‘yan eh, so you segue to preliminary investigation. Up to now, wala — enjoy na enjoy pa sila,” she added.

Carpio-Morales has largely stayed out of the media spotlight since leaving the Office of the Ombudsman in 2018. She revealed that her decision to appear on Alampay’s program was partly to repay him for helping her during an overseas trip.

In a lighthearted moment, she quipped, “The reason why I accepted the invitation of Robbie to appear here is because I’m just repaying him because when we were in India, he assisted me with my luggage. But according to him, he did not only assist — he was the one who carried my luggage. That was when we were already about to return to Manila because when we went to India, my luggage was still half empty.”

Watch the interview below: