House prosecution: Ombudsman must wait for impeachment court verdict on VP Sara
The Office of the Ombudsman must wait for the verdict of the Senate impeachment court on Vice President Sara Duterte before deciding whether she should face criminal prosecution, as stated in Ombudsman law, the House prosecution panel said Tuesday.
House prosecution panel spokesperson Antonio Audie Bucoy made the response when asked if Ombudsman Samuel Martires should defer to the Senate impeachment court in light of his ordering the Vice President to answer allegations of criminal activities.
These allegations, which include technical malversation of public funds, plunder, and falsification of public documents, were first revealed during the House panel inquiry into her office's budget use, including P612.5 million worth of confidential funds from 2022 to 2023.
"The impeachment proceedings is of primordial consideration," Bucoy said in a press conference.
"'Yan ho ang pinakamataas na antas tungo sa [hakbang na] panagutin ang impeachable official. Under the Ombudsman Act, Republic Act 6770, meron hong dalawang provisions doon na sinasabi na ang Ombudsman ay hindi pwedeng imbestigahan ang impeachable official because sapagkat ang mekanismo na nakasaad sa saligang batas [ay] impeachment, na ang may jurisdiction ay ang Senado, sitting as an impeachment court,' he said, referring to Section 21 of the Ombudsman law.
(The impeachment is the highest ranked accountability tool for an impeachable official. The Ombudsman Act has two provisions stating that the Ombudsman cannot investigate an impeachable official because the process for that is impeachment, which is under the jurisdiction of the Senate impeachment court.)
'Pangalawa, meron din diyan provision na nagsasabi kung iimbestigahan, maaaring imbestigahan ng Ombudsman ang impeachable official kapag ang layunin nito ay mag-file ng verified impeachment complaint. Yun lang ho,' Bucoy added, referring to Section 22 of the Ombudsman law.
(Secondly, the same law states that if the Ombudsman will investigate an impeachable official, the goal must be to file a verified impeachment complaint. That's it.)
These Ombudsman law provisions, Bucoy said, only supports the prosecution's position and the Constitutional provisions providing for the immediate start of the impeachment trial and the Ombudsman holding in abeyance any investigation on the Vice President.
'Nag-acquire na ng jurisdiction ang [Senate] impeachment court [on the impeachment complaint], [so] the Ombudsman should await the outcome of the impeachment proceedings. The Ombudsman should take a backseat and tignan niya yung ano 'yung evidence yang ilalahad during the trial,' Bucoy said.
(The Senate already required jurisdiction on the impeachment complaint, so the Ombudsman should await the outcome of the impeachment proceedings. The Ombudsman should see the evidence to be presented during the impeachment trial.)
'Dapat ho, bigyan ng pagkakataon ang impeachment court na iisulong yung paglilitis hanggang ito ay matapos,' Bucoy added.
(The Ombudsman should give the Senate impeachment court the chance to proceed with the trial until it reaches a verdict.)
The June 19 Ombudsman order requiring the Vice President to comment on allegations of technical malversation, falsification, falsification of public documents, perjury, bribery, corruption of public officers, plunder, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution identified the House good government and public accountability panel which investigated her budget use as the complainant.
The House good government and public accountability panel, however, did not file a complaint against the Vice President before the Office of the Ombudsman. — BM, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
2 hours ago
- GMA Network
Hontiveros files reso seeking probe on alleged abuse in Pampanga orphanage
Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution seeking a Senate inquiry into the alleged child abuse cases in an orphanage located in Mexico, Pampanga. Under Senate Resolution 77, the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality is directed to conduct an inquiry into the alleged maltreatment of children in an orphanage, where an American pastor served as director. The Senate inquiry would also look into the abuses committed in other orphanages and childcare facilities. The resolution stated that the Senate inquiry aims to strengthen child protection laws and improve regulations and monitoring of public and private child-caring institutions. 'The reported incident underscores the necessity of a comprehensive review of accreditation, monitoring, and regulation mechanisms for public and private institutions that assume custody of minors to prevent similar abuses from recurring,' the resolution read. Last week, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) rescued about 160 children alleged to have been maltreated in the orphanage. This alleged maltreatment includes children being restrained, starved, and locked in a bathroom. The pastor is facing charges for violation of the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) will also conduct deportation proceedings against him. Meanwhile, DSWD has issued a cease and desist order against the orphanage. DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said the orphanage's registration could be revoked and blacklisted from the list of social welfare and development facilities if it did not abide by the agency's recommendation for improvement. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
2 hours ago
- GMA Network
P373-billion amendment in 2025 budget questioned
At the start of the deliberations of the House of Representatives on the proposed P6.793 trillion for next year, a lawmaker raised questions on the P373-billion amendment by Congress in the 2025 budget. "To be specific about it, it was cut and diverted to other items, either augmenting existing items or new ones," Caloocan Rep. Edgard Erice said in a "24 Oras" report by Tina Panganiban-Perez. "After reviewing, the President vetoed only P26 billion, a small amount compared to the huge amendment," he added. In response, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said, "At any given time during budget execution, the President can withhold releases of the budget if it is not consistent with the priorities of this administration." Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, meanwhile, raised questions on the small committee, which was created after the budget's passage, to finalize the appropriations bill. "The initiative and errata come from Congress, that's why Secretary Recto seemed to have a hard time responding to our query as to how some items were reduced. It's Congress that knows about that," he said. Tiangco asked the House appropriations committee for records of the two meetings of the small committee last year on the 2025 budget. "The request will be under consideration," House appropriations panel chairperson Rep. Mika Suansing said. However, Tiangco was not satisfied. "This is not acceptable; these are public records, and there were too many violations. There were no records; now you're saying it's not readily available. Is this a secret?" he said. In retort, Suansing said, "The small committee is subsumed within the committee on appropriations. It is not required to render a separate report. The rule you are citing pertained to the standing committees." For the 2026 budget, the small committee will be replaced by a budget amendments subcommittee to be composed of select House members from the majority and the minority blocs. This panel will be organized at the start of the budget deliberations. The House leadership also said the budget deliberations will be open to civil society observers. "The House has opened its doors wider than ever before," Speaker Martin Romualdez said. In their presentation, economic managers discussed addressing inflation, the rise in the per capita gross national income, economic growth, and job creation. Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan raised hopes that the country would achieve the upper middle income status this year. "Per capita gross national income continues to rise, bringing us closer to World Bank's upper middle income threshold. We are poised to reach this milestone, possibly even this year," Balisacan said. However, he said the government should continue to address the economic challenges to continuously spur growth. "The agriculture industry continues to face structural challenges, which we must address to reinforce our economic drivers and generate higher-quality jobs. Another challenge is the concentration of economic activities in Mega Manila," Balisacan said. "To address this, infrastructure development remains a cornerstone of our strategy," he added. Recto said the Marcos government has inherited a huge national debt from borrowings during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this, the Finance chief said tax collection must be boosted and idle government assets must be disposed of to generate additional revenues. He also said borrowings will be inevitable. "Let us all together carefully choose projects in the budget that deliver the biggest growth and economic benefits for our people," Recto said. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
4 hours ago
- GMA Network
DBM: Education, health funding in proposed 2026 budget not ideal
The funding for education, social protection and health programs under the proposed P6.793-trillion budget for 2026 is not ideal, but there are no resources to increase them, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Monday. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman made the response when asked by House Deputy Minority Leader Chel Diokno of Akbayan party-list as to why allocations to these crucial budget items remain insufficient based on international standards while the proposed flood control budget next year stands at P274 billion. 'The proposed 2026 budget allocates just around 3.5% of the GDP [gross domestic product] for education versus the 4% to 6% recommended by 2.2% percent for social protection versus the 5.1% of the GDP recommended by the International Labor Organization, and 1% for health as against the 5% percent GDP recommended by the World Health Organization. Bakit po paulit-ulit na parang ang pamumuhunan ng gobyerno natin para sa tao ay kulang?" Diokno said. (Why is that our investment in our people is always not enough?) 'Kulang tayo sa edukasyon, kulang tayo sa kalusugan, kulang tayo sa social protection kumpara sa pamantayan ng ibang mga bansa,' Diokno added. (We don't invest enough in education, health and social protection based on best practices.) Pangandaman responded that while all government agencies are aware of the ideal level of funding and proposed P10.1 trillion worth of budget items for 2026, the fact remains that the government cannot afford to fund them all. 'Hindi po natin kaya pondohan lahat po itong mga standards na ibinibigay ng mga international at development partners. I think if we will add 5 percent, 4 percent, 3 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent altogether, sosobra na po sa sa budget level po natin. Kasi kailangan po nating i-prioritize din po 'yung mga programang kailangan po natin pondohan,' Pangandaman said. (We cannot fund to the levels set by our international and development would go over budget, so we have to prioritize items that need funding.) 'At 'yan po ay nakapaloob sa Philippine Development Plan at saka sa mga roadmaps ng ating mga departamento. Sa susunod na taon po, ang mga prayoridad po natin, unang-una po ay education. Sinubukan po natin na at least kahit papaano matugunan iyong 4% [of GDP] na kinakailangan para po sa ating basic education at tertiary education. Sinubukan po talaga natin,' Pangandaman added. (We based our proposed budget on the Philippine Development Plan and roadmaps of different departments. Next year, our top priority is education so we tried to meet the 4% . We really tried.) The Budget chief also said that the budget for health, agriculture and social protection items were all increased from their 2025 allocation in accordance with the Philippine Development Plan and medium-term fiscal framework, alongside infrastructure spending which accounted for 5 to 6% of the GDP. Flooding funding for flood control projects? While there is not enough funding for health, education and social protection programs, Diokno then questioned why the proposed 2026 budget still earmarked P274 billion for flood control projects when no less than President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) and subsequent announcements that flood control projects are being used by unscrupulous individuals to pocket public funds. 'On the other hand, there's P270 billion for flood control projects despite the statements made by the President that a lot of these projects are essentially pork barrel. What accounts for this seeming disparity?' Diokno asked. Pangandaman said that the P274 billion was provided for by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). 'The DPWH provided the figure based on their priority and the formula that they actually formulated when they prepared their budget proposal to the DBM,' she added. DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan has said that he will attend the Senate probe into the flood control projects. — BM, GMA Integrated News
