AMLC papers stolen
The President said the purported AMLC documents in the Office of the Ombudsman’s possession could not be used as evidence in court because these were “stolen†by an “Abad†from the council.
He did not know Abad’s first name, he said, when asked if he was referring to former AMLC Executive Director Julia Bacay-Abad.
He said Abad, who he alleged was Trillanes’ mistress, supposedly gave to the senator the documents she had stolen. The senator denied any romantic relationship with Abad.
“She gave it to Trillanes, (who) gave it to [Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Rodolfo] Elman, the Ombudsman for Mindanao because I’m a resident there in Mindanao, then gave it to Morales. Now they’re all washing their hands of it, including Elman,†he said.
‘No clearance’
Mr. Duterte said Morales had no “AMLC clearance†and should not have entered into the situation, especially since the evidence was “illegally obtained.â€
Anything that was improperly obtained could not be used as evidence, he said. Even if authentic documents are released, these would not be of any use, he added.
“The problem is, even if the central bank releases authentic ones, I will say, ‘those are the fruits of the poisonous tree,’†he said.
“You knew about that account that was stolen and made it public. Therefore, you cannot use it in any other proceeding, even if it’s real. It’s of no use because you have an official who is the Ombudsman who is part of the fabrication and the use of falsified documents,†he added.
In the House of Representatives, the Makabayan bloc told Mr. Duterte to “back off†and leave Morales alone.
The group slammed the President for “vilifying and intimidating†the Office of the Ombudsman from its constitutional mandate to investigate the alleged hidden and ill-gotten wealth of the President. —With reports from DJ Yap and Christine O. Avendaño
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