House Deputy Speaker La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V believes that a certain former Office of the Ombudsman official might be able to share vital information in the Committee on Justice's ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

As such, Ortega called on the justice panel on Sunday, March 8, to consider inviting former overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang to testify as a resource person on the impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Duterte, particularly on issues involving statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

Ortega is an endorser of one of the two impeachment raps that were found sufficient in form and in substance by the committee. The deputy speaker believes there's merit to the allegation of unexplained wealth in the particular complaint.

“Former Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang was directly involved in high-level investigations that required examining bank transaction records, including those obtained from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in connection with the financial transactions of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and accounts reportedly linked to members of his family, including VP Sara,” Ortega said.

“His experience in handling those kinds of financial documents can help the committee better understand how investigators evaluate bank records alongside SALN disclosures,” noted the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) stalwart.

Carandang served as Overall Deputy Ombudsman from 2013 to 2019 and was among the senior officials overseeing major corruption investigations at the Office of the Ombudsman during this time.

He made headlines in 2017 after confirming that the Ombudsman obtained bank transaction records from the AMLC as part of an investigation into a plunder complaint filed by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV against then-President Duterte and members of his family. The elder Duterte was president from 2016 to 2022.

The disclosure led to administrative complaints that accused Carandang of revealing confidential bank information.

Malacañang later ordered his dismissal from service in 2018 for alleged misconduct and violation of confidentiality rules--a decision that was affirmed with finality by the Office of the President (OP) in 2019.

Ortega reckoned that expert testimony from officials who handled high-level corruption investigations would strengthen the justice committee’s fact-finding work.

“Financial investigations are technical. They involve examining asset declarations, financial documents and bank records. Someone with experience in conducting these investigations can help the committee understand how such evidence is evaluated,” he said.

The declaration of sufficiency in form and substance of the two complaints against the Vice President marked a turning point in the proceedings since actual evidence and testimonies from witness would now be heard moving forward.

Following the ruling, the justice committee directed the Vice President to file her verified answer to the complaints and furnish copies to the complainants within a period of 10 calendar days.

Upon receipt of her answer, the panel will proceed to the determination of probable cause, where members will evaluate the evidence and arguments presented by both sides before deciding whether the complaints should be endorsed to the House plenary for further action.