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Ombudsman defies Palace, won't enforce Carandang suspension

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MANILA - A defiant Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Wednesday said her office would not implement Malacañang&#x27;s suspension of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang.This as she hit the Palace&#x27;s 90-day suspension order against her deputy, the official investigating the alleged wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family. Malacañang had charged Carandang with grave misconduct and grave dishonesty for his supposed illegal disclosure of the Dutertes&#x27; bank accounts.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/29/18/palace-files-admin-raps-vs-deputy-ombudsman">Palace files admin raps vs deputy ombudsman</a></li></ul>In a statement, Morales said the Palace&#x27;s action was a breach of the Ombudsman&#x27;s independence. &quot;It has become clear that the act of the Office of the President in taking cognizance of the complaints against the Overall Deputy Ombudsman and ordering his preventive suspension was not an inadvertent error but a clear affront to the Supreme Court and an impairment of the constitutionally enshrined independence of the Office of the Ombudsman,&quot; Morales said. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Statement of Ombudsman Morales on the suspension of Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang <a href="https://t.co/tt0b4PnEIf">pic.twitter.com/tt0b4PnEIf</a>— Adrian Ayalin (@adrianayalin) <a href="https://twitter.com/adrianayalin/status/958614068369108992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2018</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Morales asserted jurisprudence that &quot;categorically declared unconstitutional the administrative disciplinary jurisdiction of the President over deputy ombudsmen.&quot; &quot;In a society founded on the rule of law, the arbitrary disregard of a clearly worded jurisprudence coupled with a confident stance that it will be changed should never be countenanced,&quot; said the Ombudsman, who had herself drawn fierce criticism from the President. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/17/17/duterte-to-ombudsman-morales-mahiya-ka-sa-sarili-mo">Duterte to Ombudsman Morales: &#x27;Mahiya ka sa sarili mo&#x27; </a></li></ul>The Supreme Court had, in 2014, declared unconstitutional a provision in the Ombudsman Act of 1989 granting the Office of the President the power to remove a deputy ombudsman.But Solicitor General Jose Calida maintained Tuesday that the President has the authority to discipline a deputy ombudsman and vowed that he is ready to defend the Palace&#x27;s position before the High Court.“[M]y office is ready to defend the action of the Office of the President in suspending Carandang. We are confident that the Supreme Court will reverse its 2014 ruling,” Calida said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/30/18/solgen-ready-to-defend-palaces-suspension-of-carandang">SolGen ready to defend Palace&#x27;s suspension of Carandang </a></li></ul>In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Carandang has 10 days to answer the administrative cases. &quot;It is incumbent upon Mr. Carandang to submit his answer within the required period. After the lapse of the period provided, the Office of the President shall decide on the matter,&quot; Roque said. Carandang, in a previous interview, had said the Office of the Ombudsman received the Dutertes&#x27; bank transaction records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as part of its <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/27/17/ombudsman-investigates-duterte-familys-wealth">investigation </a>into the first family&#x27;s alleged wealth. The AMLC later said it did not provide such records to the Ombudsman.“It has neither provided the Office of the Ombudsman with any report as a consequence of any investigation of subject accounts for any purpose,&quot; the AMLC previously said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/28/17/amlc-denies-releasing-duterte-family-bank-records-to-ombudsman">AMLC denies releasing Duterte family bank records to Ombudsman </a></li></ul><div> </div>

A defiant Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Wednesday said her office would not implement Malacañang's suspension of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang.

A defiant Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Wednesday said her office would not implement Malacañang's suspension of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang.