Roque: 'Unethical' for Carandang to disclose Duterte wealth probe details

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Friday it was "unethical" for dismissed Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang to disclose information on a probe into the alleged unexplained wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family.

Carandang was dismissed from service on Wednesday after his statement in September last year revealing that then ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales had authorized him to probe Duterte's bank transactions when the latter was mayor of Davao City.

Carandang said his office had obtained documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council showing Duterte and his family had over P1 billion worth of transactions in several banks from 2006 to 2016.

The AMLC, however, denied providing any bank records to Carandang, saying it is yet to determine if there is ground to initiate an investigation into Duterte’s bank transactions.

"Clearly he violated the Anti-Money Laundering Act when he made public certain documents which was (sic) later confirmed by AMLC not to be accurate so it was really chismis (hearsay) on a matter that should have been handled on a confidential basis," Roque told reporters in a briefing in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

He said Carandang, who was supposed to serve until 2020, breached his duty to protect confidential information.

This breach caused his dismissal after Malacañang found that he manifested partiality and violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, according to Duterte's spokesperson.

"I think it was unethical for Carandang to use his office for political reasons because that's clearly what motivated him to use unverified information from AMLC in a matter that is contrary to law," he added.

Roque said Malacañang would leave it to newly-appointed Ombudsman Samuel Martires to implement the dismissal order.

Morales early this year refused to implement the palace's suspension order on Carandang, arguing that it had no powers to do so. — Philstar.com intern Christian de Lano Deiparine