MANILA, July 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The Philippines’ top anti-corruption
prosecutor, one of the few remaining critics of President Rodrigo Duterte in
government, retired on Thursday, appealing for “strong institutions” over
strong leaders.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, 77, finishes her seven-year term during
which she earned Duterte’s ire for criticising his brutal drug war and for
her office’s investigation into his alleged secret bank accounts.
Duterte, who accused Morales of “selective justice” and conspiring with
opposition figures to oust him, last year threatened to have the retired
Supreme Court justice impeached while launching tirades against her.
But a defiant Morales dismissed Duterte’s allegations as “fake news”,
saying that his threats never intimidated her from doing her job.
“I know I am right in my own work so why should I be scared,” Morales told
AFP days before her retirement.
“As long as we have strong institutions, we don’t need strong people to
run the government”, she added, emphasising the importance of independent
bodies like her office.
Duterte, 73, has launched an unprecedented crackdown on drugs that has
left thousands dead, sparking criticism from rights groups who say he may be
orchestrating a crime against humanity.
The Filipino leader has lashed out at critics, including Senator Leila de
Lima — jailed over drug charges she says were fabricated — and former
Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno who was ousted in May.
Opposition leaders have said these moves — along with attempts to
discredit the country’s main rights agency — are part of Duterte’s scorched-
earth tactics to silence critics and weaken democratic institutions.
Morales, who was appointed by Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, in
2011 to head the anti-graft watchdog, angered the president when she
criticised his pronouncements on killings last year.
Their spat intensified last January when Morales defied Duterte’s order to
suspend her deputy for allegedly leaking his bank records, saying the
president’s directive violated the constitution.
Her agency was then investigating allegations that Duterte failed to
disclose 211 million pesos ($3.9 million) in secret bank accounts when he was
a presidential candidate.
The ombudsman said in February it had terminated the probe after the
central bank’s Anti-Money Laundering Council refused to cooperate.
“Ombudsman Morales is a significant voice, a strong woman and a person
with integrity,” Gladstone Cuarteros, assistant professor of political
science at the De La Salle University in Manila, told AFP.
“With her retirement, another critical voice is softened but not
silenced.”
Morales was honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award — often described as
Asia’s Nobel Prize — in 2016 for her diligence in prosecuting high-ranking
corrupt officials.
The leading candidate to replace her is a Supreme Court justice appointed
by Duterte and who has voted to uphold his major policies.