There is something that defies common sense in the suspension by Malacanang of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang for supposedly leaking to media confidential and alleged false information on President Rodrigo Duterte’s bank accounts September last year.
The “leak” was an interview of Carandang by reporters checking on the progress of the plunder case filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV with the Office of the Ombudsman in May 2016.
Trillanes attached a bunch of bank documents showing deposits of Pres. Duterte and daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio, Davao City mayor, in BPI and other banks in hundreds of millions, much, much more than the amount disclosed by the two in their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth when they were Davao City mayor and vice mayor respectively.
In a press briefing Monday Roque said the Office of the Executive Secretary formally charged Carandang with grave misconduct and grave dishonesty for “misuse of confidential information and disclosing false information.”
“The charges stem from unauthorized disclosure of confidential information which (the Anti-Money Laundering Council) clarified did not come from them, which AMLC also said were wrong and misleading,” Roque said.
The suspension comes one week after VERA Files published on Jan. 21 an analysis of the bank documents showing Duterte and his daughter failed to disclose joint deposits and investments exceeding P100 million in their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
When Carandang confirmed to reporters last September 28 that they got the requested documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council and they were “more or less” the same as what Trillanes attached to his complaint, the Duterte-appointed AMLAC executive director Mel Georgie Racela denied having sent the documents.
If we are to believe Racela that AMLAC didn’t send anything to the Ombudsman (although Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales affirmed that they received documents from AMLAC) what did Carandang leak?
The panic is becoming obvious.
it’s about time amlac chief racela own up, man up, and not dumb down and play dumber. by being honest and transparent, he could well lose his job, but then again, as man of honor and integrity, he can always find other jobs. maybe, better jobs. he has already crossed the line when he leaked said docus, he might as well man up, his head held high and state his point. not cover up and lie his points.
by now, racela must well and truly know na hindi siya nag-iisa in the fight against corruption even if corruption road goes all the way to malakanyang, maybe dabaw too.
stand for dignity, racela, you and your family may lose but you all also have much to gain. all things that glitters are not gold, and there are things that cannot be bought by money and prestige.
leak info kuno, I think, carandang was just sharing info with the media, after all meron na tayong freedom of info ngayon.
congrats by the way, ellen, I saw you in the senate, stating your views on fake info. thanks for calling a spade a spade. true that fake news come from duterte himself. think about the stolen cutleries in shangrila, also the fake bank accounts ni trillanes sa singapore, etc. in my opinion, duterte is the grandfather of fake news.
Thanks, ROC.