Even as it said it respects the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision to suspend House Deputy Speaker Gwendolyn Garcia, Malacañang reminded the anti-graft body on Tuesday that only Congress can suspend any of 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,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement. Thus, only the House of Representatives, convened in plenary and by a two-thirds vote, can expel Deputy Speaker Garcia from its rolls,” he added. In January, the Office of the President (OP) ordered the suspension of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang for grave misconduct and other administrative offenses after he disclosed alleged bank records of President Rodrigo Duterte. READ: Palace suspends Deputy Ombudsman CarandangMorales, in response, defied the OP’s order, saying that implementing the order would be against the Constitution.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 13, 2018 03:22 UTC