Outgoing Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Thursday challenged President Rodrigo Duterte to show proof she had been a corrupt government official.
She said she was hurt by the President’s accusations that she was corrupt.
“It hurts when he said I was corrupt. Of course, it hurts because I know who I am. Unless he has the evidence to show that I am corrupt, then I accept that challenge,” Morales said in a television interview.
“Show me that I am corrupt. The burden is on him to come up with evidence. We go by the evidence. This could not just be a guessing game. If he really wants to prove I am corrupt, show it. I welcome it.”
In other developments:
• Morales on Thursday appealed to her successor to continue the reforms she introduced during her seven-year term as the government’s lead anti-corruption watchdog.
“If the next leadership would not turn the current order of the existing initiatives, please let it not be reinvented,” Morales told a forum in Pasig City.
“We believe in the reforms that have been instituted. To see them sustained until their impact can be harnessed is a dream for this transitioning leadership.”
Morales is retiring on July 26.
• The Judicial and Bar Council will come up on July 20 a shortlist of the aspirants for the post to be vacated by Morales.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the JBC, said the seven-member council tasked to screen the nominees to posts in the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman will come up with the shortlist after their voting on that day.
“JBC will vote on July 20 and send the shortlist to the President on the same date,” Guevarra said, in a text message.
Morales said she earned the wrath of the President when Japan’s NHK World asked her to comment on the President’s war on drugs, prompting her to reply that “he is goading people to kill.”
She said it was just her personal stance.
“That was my personal opinion. I cannot understand why he went berserk and told me that I am corrupt. He said he would disrobe me [and told me to] shut my mouth, [but] I’ll not shut my mouth,” Morales said.
“I speak my mind out. I’m not restrained by what this fellow believes or what that fellow believes irrespective of background.”
Morales also rejected speculations that she applied “selective justice” in her stint at the Ombudsman.
“Where is this claim of selective justice coming from? Is it selective when the law you applied sees neither political color nor political affiliation? Is it partial when all points have been heard and all points raised in the course of the processes were considered?” Morales said.
She told her critics to put themselves in her shoes.
“You be the judge. We can only defend our positions. For no matter how important public opinion is, we also do not fully operate on mere perceptions. There is a law to always turn to,” she said. With Rey E. Requejo
