No valid grounds to probe VP – ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines —   For Ombudsman Samuel Martires, there are no valid grounds at this point to investigate Vice President Sara Duterte for her alleged threat to assassinate President Marcos or for her possible misuse of confidential funds amounting to P125 million.

Martires also told Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres to “shut up” about the issue.

“As far as we are concerned right now, we have not seen any acts of the Vice President that we should investigate,” Martires told GMA News on Thursday night. “We do not find anything that was in violation of, one, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, or of any offenses in the Revised Penal Code that is in relation to the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”

He was reacting to a pronouncement from Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres that the ombudsman has the authority and the duty to “discipline and to take necessary measures” in the face of Duterte’s admission about contracting a person to kill Marcos, the First Lady and Speaker Martin Romualdez as well as her failure to account for her confidential funds.

Andres said investigating Duterte is part of the ombudsman’s “mandate as the investigator of all high-ranking government officials.”

Martires was apparently piqued by Andres’ statement.

“I would advise Usec. Andres to shut up, to stop talking about the case. Because one of the powers of the ombudsman is to take over the investigation of a case of any government investigative agency at any stage of the proceedings,” Martires said.

“If we find that the grave threat is committed in relation to office and this grave threat is done in relation to the performance of her duties as Vice President [then we can investigate]. If not, that will be personal and we have no jurisdiction over these sort things,” he added.

Duterte is currently under investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for grave threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code as well as for possible violation of Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Law, in connection with her “kill” remarks against the President, the First Lady and the House Speaker.

Duterte is also currently under “investigation in aid of legislation” by the House committee on good government and public accountability in connection with questionable confidential fund expenses of the Office of the Vice President as well as the Department of Education when she was its secretary from mid-2022 to mid-2024.

Martires said the ombudsman can take over both the NBI and the House committee’s investigations once it determines that it has “jurisdiction over these cases.”

“If we feel that we have jurisdiction over these cases we can request Congress to please stop and we will take over the investigation of the case. We can do that but as a matter of courtesy, you know, we belong to different departments, branches of government, as a matter of courtesy, we’ll tell Congress,” he said.

Martires cited Section 15 (1) of RA 6770 or the Office of the Ombudsman Act of 1989 which states that the agency has the power “to investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public officer or employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient.”

The same provision also states that the ombudsman has “primary jurisdiction over cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan and, in the exercise of his primary jurisdiction, it may take over, at any stage, from any investigatory agency of government, the investigation of such cases.”

Marites was appointed by Sara Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, as associate justice of the Supreme Court in 2017 and then as ombudsman in July 2018, replacing then ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.