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'God forbid': Morales says of Duterte ex-lawyer becoming next ombudsman

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Trishia Billones, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1429607" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA - Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said &quot;God forbid&quot; President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s former lawyer gets appointed to the post she will leave this month.</p><p>Morales said Edna Batacan, who was Duterte&#x27;s counsel against graft allegations when he was Davao mayor, dug her own grave during the interview with the Judicial and Bar Council when she said she was a victim of corruption while serving as a lawyer for the Office of the Ombudsman, which she described as corruption-ridden.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/06/20/18/watch-ex-duterte-lawyer-wants-to-become-ombudsman">WATCH: Ex-Duterte lawyer wants to become Ombudsman</a></li></ul><p>&quot;If you are party to corruption, you are corrupt yourself,&quot; Morales said in an interview with ANC&#x27;s Headstart that aired Monday.</p><p>She added, this was &quot;complemented&quot; by a charge filed by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, who alleged that Batacan asked P8 million from a mutual client of theirs to pay an ombudsman for charges to be dismissed.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/28/18/arroyo-counsel-opposes-batacans-bid-for-ombudsman">Arroyo counsel opposes Batacan&#x27;s bid for Ombudsman</a></li></ul><p>&quot;God forbid. You have to have competence, honesty, industry. If she has all of these, go ahead please. But by all indications, My God. Look at her interview. You be the judge,&quot; Morales said when asked what will happen if Batacan becomes the next ombudsman.</p><p>Batacan, along with Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Martires and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, could be the front runner in race, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/21/18/duterte-lawyer-is-ombudsman-frontrunner-roque-thinks-so">Duterte lawyer is Ombudsman frontrunner? Roque thinks so</a></li></ul><p>Morales, however, said she would rather withhold any comment on preference on her successor.</p><p>&quot;I know the psychology: pag galit ka sa tao, yun ang gugusto nila. Pag ayaw mo sa tao, yun ang gusto nila…I’m not going to give an opinion on who should come to take my place,&quot; she said.</p><p>Morales will retire on July 26.</p><p>Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Efren De La Cruz, Former Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice and Ombudsman Special Prosecutor Edilberto Sandoval, Judge Carlos Espero II, and lawyers Rey Nathaniel Ifurung, Rainier Madrid, Felito Ramirez, and Rex Rico are also in the running to be her successor.</p><div><strong>OMBUDSMAN NOT ONLY FOCUSED ON PROSECUTION</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_2_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_2" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1429588" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Morales also took exception to an Ombudsman candidate&#x27;s comment that her office was solely focused on prosecuting erring government officials.</p><p>Madrid, who was the lawyer of Duterte&#x27;s eldest son, Paolo, during the Senate hearing on the entry of a P6.4-billion shabu shipment, told the JBC that more than prosecution, he will prevent corruption if he is chosen.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/06/20/18/watch-paolo-dutertes-lawyer-seeks-ombudsman-post">WATCH: Paolo Duterte&#x27;s lawyer seeks Ombudsman post</a></li></ul><p>This statement from the nominee was &quot;all bark, no bite,&quot; said Morales. </p><p>The office has an integrity caravan, where they inculcate the values of &quot;honesty, integrity, responsibility and accountability&quot; on the youth. </p><p>They also have an integrity management program, where they look at vulnerability of offices and give lectures on what the office is about and what are violative of the anti-corruption laws, she said.</p><p>&quot;Wag nilang sasabihin na prosecution lang ginagwa namin,&quot; said Morales.</p><p>(Don&#x27;t say all we did was prosecution.)</p>

<p>Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said "God forbid" President Rodrigo Duterte's former lawyer gets appointed to the post she will leave this month.</p>

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said "God forbid" President Rodrigo Duterte's former lawyer gets appointed to the post she will leave this month.

'God forbid': Morales says of Duterte ex-lawyer becoming next ombudsman

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'God forbid': Morales says of Duterte ex-lawyer becoming next ombudsman

Trishia Billones,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 09, 2018 09:48 AM PHT

|

Updated Jul 09, 2018 03:24 PM PHT

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ANC

ANC Top

ANC Exclusives

Conchita Carpio Morales

Ombudsman

Edna Batacan

Judicial and Bar Council

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