La Union 1st District Representative Paolo Ortega has urged the House Committee on Justice to invite former Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Carandang as a resource person in deliberations on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, particularly on issues related to Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and alleged unexplained wealth.
Ortega said Carandang was “directly involved” in investigating the financial transactions of former President Rodrigo Duterte and members of his family, including the Vice President.
“His experience in handling those kinds of financial documents can help the committee better understand how investigators evaluate bank records alongside SALN disclosures,” Ortega explained.
Carandang, who served as Overall Deputy Ombudsman from 2013 to 2019, oversaw major corruption investigations at the Office of the Ombudsman.
In 2017, he confirmed that the Ombudsman had obtained bank transaction records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council as part of a plunder case filed by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV against Duterte and his family.
Ortega emphasized that testimony from officials with experience in high-level financial investigations would strengthen the committee’s fact-finding efforts:
“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.”
The fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte alleges graft and corruption, bribery, procurement irregularities, unexplained wealth, and omissions or misdeclarations in her SALN.