Palace: Only House can discipline, dismiss members

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has no power to discipline or remove members of the Congress, Presidential Spokesperson and former Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque Jr. said. 

Roque’s statement echoed Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’ refusal to heed the order of the Office of the Ombudsman to dismiss Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia (Cebu, 3rd district) from public service, saying that only the House of Representatives can impose sanctions on its members. 

“While we respect the findings of the Ombudsman based on the merits of the case, only Congress may suspend or remove its members based on the former’s anti-graft and corruption rulings. She cannot arrogate this power of Congress,” he said in a statement. 

The former solon added: “Thus, only the House of the Representatives, convened in plenary and by a two-thirds vote, can expel Deputy Speaker Garcia from its rolls.”

Garcia was dismissed by the Ombudsman for committing grave misconduct over the controversial purchase of the Balili property. 

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales left it to Alvarez to act on the order.

Political color?

Roque also said the dismissal order against Garcia “could have come at a more circumspect time.”

“It is also unfortunate that the decision of the Ombudsman was released at a time when such actions could be given political color,” he said.

Garcia on Monday suspected that her active participation in the ongoing impeachment proceeding against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno might have prompted the order. 

“The timing is rather suspect. It seems as though the ombudsman has singled me out of an act that was done when I was still governor several years ago,” Garcia said in a recorded ambush interview.

The deputy speaker added: “And you rather wonder whether this was purposely done precisely because as you saw, I was very active in the impeachment hearing against Chief Justice Sereno.”