It was justice long delayed, but still heartening to see abuse of power censured.
In her ponencia voiding the 2019 dismissal of then deputy ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang, Supreme Court Associate Justice Filomena D. Singh, a Duterte appointee, warned of the dangers of “abuse of power.”
“The rule of law requires that those tasked with scrutinizing authority remain insulated from it, lest oversight become illusory and the constitutional design of checks and balances give way to political expediency.”
She underscored that an earlier Supreme Court decision “unequivocally recognized the ombudsman as the proper disciplinary authority over the deputy ombudsman.”
“Yet, in the order dated June 14, 2019, Ombudsman [Samuel] Martires effectively dismissed Carandang by declaring the position of overall deputy ombudsman vacant. However, the order was issued solely in reliance on the Office of the President’s decision and resolution. There is no showing that the ombudsman conducted an independent evaluation of the administrative charges or afforded Carandang the opportunity to be heard and to present evidence. For this reason, the court likewise finds the said order infirm,” the decision, concurred in by the other three members of the Third Division, stated in part.
The ruling rights the wrong done to Carandang by former president Rodrigo Duterte, covering his retirement benefits and salaries withheld during his preventive suspension and dismissal. However, he cannot be reinstated as his term expired in 2020.
Singh’s ponencia, promulgated Jan. 29, 2026, made an impact on the public as it came 10 days after former senator Antonio Trillanes IV presented details of the mind-boggling deposits in the joint account of the former president and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte—much of it in the Bank of the Philippine Islands Julia Vargas, Ortigas branch—during a House Committee on Justice hearing on Sara’s impeachment.
That bank account lay at the center of Carandang’s seven-year ordeal.
How Carandang came to handle the Duterte plunder case
In 2016, four days before the May 9 elections, Trillanes, armed with copies of the Dutertes’ bank transactions reaching P2.2 billion, filed a plunder complaint against Rodrigo and Sara Duterte before the Office of the Ombudsman. He alleged they failed to disclose in their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth substantial deposits and investments reflected in their BPI joint account from 2006 to 2014, when they were mayor and vice mayor of Davao City.
At the time, Rodrigo Duterte was leading the presidential race, vowing to eradicate illegal drugs “in three to six months” and warning of filling the streets with dead bodies.
Then ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales inhibited herself due to her relation by affinity to Sara Duterte. The case was assigned to Carandang.
Despite the explosive Trillanes exposé, Duterte won the presidency.
With the immense power of the presidency, he went all out to seal access to his BPI accounts and to punish those who tried to investigate them.
Suspecting Trillanes’ documents came from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, then headed by Julia C. Bacay-Abad (not related to former budget secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad), Duterte caused her resignation on Jan. 30, 2017, more than a year before her five-year term ended. She was replaced by Mel Georgie B. Racela, who remained compliant throughout his term, which ended in August 2022.
Verify with AMLC
Working on the Dutertes’ plunder case, Carandang first sought to verify with the AMLC whether the bank records attached to Trillanes’ complaint were authentic and matched with those they have in their records.
Reporters closely tracked developments.
On Sept. 27, 2017, journalists Henry Omaga-Diaz of ABS-CBN and Nikko Dizon chanced upon Carandang at the Ombudsman canteen and asked about the AMLC documents. He confirmed he had “received bank transactions coming from AMLC.”
Asked if they matched Trillanes’ documents, he replied, “More or less.”
The High Court’s decision quoted Carandang in more detail: “Yung billions kasi baka add-in na nila itong lahat ng transactions… Pag in-add mo siguro ’yan aabot ng billion… Ang dami… P40 million, P40 million… 200 million kaagad ito… Yung iba P50 million… ang dami.”
Racela immediately denied sending such records. If not from him or the secretariat, could they have come from within AMLC?
A week later, lawyers Manuelito Luna and Eligio Mallari filed an administrative complaint against Carandang before the Office of the President, alleging unauthorized disclosure, graft, misconduct, negligence, and dishonesty amounting to betrayal of public trust. Later, lawyers Jacinto Paras and Glenn Chong filed a similar complaint.
Months into his post, Racela informed Carandang the AMLC would not provide documents, citing presidential immunity. Carandang was forced to terminate the fact-finding on Nov. 29, 2017.
Harassment
The pressure did not stop. Carandang and his family were placed under constant surveillance, both subtle and blatant.
In January 2018, the Office of the President, through then executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, formally charged him and ordered his preventive suspension. Carpio-Morales refused to enforce it, maintaining that only the ombudsman could discipline a deputy.
The scrupulous Carpio-Morales, however, retired on July 25, 2018 and was succeeded by Samuel Martires, a Duterte lackey.
On June 14, 2019, Martires ordered Carandang to “cease and desist” from performing his duties and declared his post vacant.
Stripped of salary and benefits, Carandang went to the Court of Appeals, which ruled the president’s disciplinary action unconstitutional and void.
The Office of the President, through the Office of the Solicitor General, elevated the case to the Supreme Court—leading to a decision that helps restore faith in the justice system, despite its flaws and distortions.
But it would be foolhardy to presume that positive developments such as the case of Carandang spells the end of the Dutertes’ malevolent empire.
As more information emerges to support and explain the entries in the Dutertes’ bank accounts, a sprawling, multi-layered network comes into view—one they will fight to protect.
That makes the 2028 elections all the more crucial.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
