Duterte has no hidden wealth, Abella says

September 27, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte has no ill-gotten wealth, Malacanang said on Wednesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella made the statement following the move of the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate him and other members of his family regarding their alleged undeclared wealth.

"The president has nothing to hide," he said.

But he added that Duterte respects the internal processes of the Ombudsman as an independent body and "trusts its impartiality in the conduct of its fact-finding duty."

A news report said Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales confirmed her office is conducting an investigation on Duterte's alleged wealth amounting to billions of pesos based on the complaint of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch critic of the president.

Carpio, who has earned the ire of Duterte for criticizing his war on drugs, inhibited herself in the probe. Her brother is the father-in-law of Duterte's daughter's Sara.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang had approved the request of the Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao to obtain the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) final report on the Duterte family’s bank transaction records when Duterte was mayor of Davao City.

Under the law, a sitting president is immune from suit.

However, the result of the Ombudsman's probe could be used as basis for filing an impeachment complaint against Duterte. Celerina Monte/DMS