Koko: Ombudsman can hound Duterte amid impeach trial
The Office of the Vice President may be investigated for alleged misuse of public funds even as Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial proceeds, former Senate President Kiko Pimentel said.
Pimentel said the Vice President has no immunity from suit under the Constitution, allowing law enforcement agencies such as the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate her while the trial is ongoing.
“If you don’t have immunity from suit then all the more even from investigation, any investigation can be done,” Pimentel said in a radio interview.
He said the Ombudsman, as an independent constitutional body, could initiate an investigation on its own.
“The Ombudsman has the power for a motu proprio [probe]; it is actually encouraged that it moves on its own, without a prompt from anybody, because it is an independent office,” he said.
Pimentel, however, declined to say what specific crime Duterte may have committed, noting that even malversation has different forms.
The issue surfaced after House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon urged the Ombudsman on 25 August to investigate Duterte and the OVP over the alleged misuse of P500 million in confidential funds from 2022 to 2023.
Ridon cited testimony from former OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta that she turned over confidential funds to former Duterte security chief Col. Raymund Lachica for disbursement.
The prosecution said the arrangement may have violated Commission on Audit Joint Circular 2015-01, which provides that a special disbursing officer has sole responsibility for disbursing confidential funds.
The Ombudsman is already monitoring the impeachment proceedings. Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said Friday that a team had been assigned to monitor the trial and recommend action on information arising from the proceedings.
“As of right now, there is nothing that is being recommended to the Ombudsman but the team continues to monitor the proceedings,” Clavano said.
The impeachment trial is set to resume Tuesday, 1 September, with the prosecution presenting evidence on Article I.