Majority of House members favor probing Office of the Ombudsman

QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Majority of the members of the House of Representatives are in favor of the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate anomalies inside the Office of the Ombudsman.

The move was made after President Duterte on Thursday said that he is planning to create a commission that would investigate alleged anomalies at the Office of the Ombudsman.

“You’ll be investigated also. One of these days, kayo ang sigurado kong hahabulin dahil nga ‘yung partiality niyo. Kapag hindi niyo imbestigahan ang sarili niyo, ako ang mag-set up ng commisison to investigate you as a President with investigating powers,” Duterte said.

Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone and Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) party-list Representative Jericho Nograles agreed that there are serious allegations being made against the Office of Ombudsman.

“The allegations of corruption in the Office of the Ombudsman are serious, and must not be taken lightly. The Ombudsman is the public defender and they should conduct themselves with utmost professionalism. The practice of politically biased investigations should stop,” said Nograles.

Among the allegations hurled against the Ombudsman’s office include the dismissal of cases due to delays, and accusations of bias against the Ombudsman for allegedly not filing cases against members of the Liberal Party.