Ombudsman: Floodgate won’t be sidelined

With the impeachment process against Vice President Sara Duterte taking center stage in recent weeks, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla affirmed that they were still working in the background to investigate the multibillion-peso flood-control scandal.

Remulla said that their office was not keen on making any noise during the constitutional impeachment process, not wanting to overshadow the trial set to take place in the Senate.

“Impeachment is a constitutional process, as we are a constitutional body; we give due respect to that process,” he explained during a press conference this Friday, 15 May.

Maturing cases

Speaking on the investigation it was conducting into public officials allegedly involved, Remulla said they had several cases that were “maturing” and could be filed sometime between May and July.

He further noted that they were in close coordination with the Anti-Money Laundering Council regarding the tracking of funds that could be linked to flood control.

Aside from their own evidence and investigation, the Ombudsman said they would use the partial report of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee headed by Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as a guide for their investigative teams.

“It’s a guide for us to use, not necessarily to adopt…We have to find out through our own sources and follow the evidence,” he said.

Remulla declined to provide additional details, particularly on the names of the individuals they were investigating, citing the sheer scale of funds as one of their considerations.