THE OMBUDSMAN in a statement on Wednesday said she “will not allow herself to betray her sworn duty to uphold the Constitution by recognizing what is patently unconstitutional,” and therefore will defy Malacañang’s suspension order on Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur H. Carandang.

“It has become clear that the act of the Office of the President in taking cognizance of the complaints against the Overall Deputy Ombudsman and ordering his preventive suspension was not an inadvertent error but a clear affront to the Supreme Court and an impairment of the constitutionally enshrined independence of the Office of the Ombudsman,” Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said in her statement.

The Palace issued a 90-day preventive suspension against Mr. Carandang for alleged “grave misconduct and grave dishonesty” by the “misuse of confidential information and disclosing false information” regarding President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s assets. according to Presidential Spokesperson Herminio Harry L. Roque, Jr.

“In a society founded on the rule of law, the arbitrary disregard of a clearly worded jurisprudence coupled with a confident stance that it will be changed should never be countenanced,” Ms. Morales said.

Mr. Roque had said Mr. Carandang is compelled to submit “his answer on the ‘Resolution and Order’” within 10 days.

“After the lapse of the period provided, the Office of the President shall decide on the matter,” he added.

In an interview with ANC, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said the “order of preventive suspension…is presumed to be valid and legal” until a “competent court” declares otherwise.

“It behooves therefore the public official authorized to implement the order to enforce the same against respondent Carandang. Any willful refusal to do so or any deliberate act impeding such enforcement may open the said official to administrative and criminal sanctions,” Mr. Panelo said.

Asked if the Ombudsman’s refusal to heed the President’s order is an impeachable act, Mr. Panelo said: “It depends. If it is malicious and deliberate, it can be considered a betrayal of the public trust. Otherwise, it may not be.” — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz

THE QUALITY of democracy in the Philippines has been “adversely affected” on the watch of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, with the country ranking 51^st in a 2017 global democracy index on 165 states by an affiliate of The Economist.

The report released by the The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU), the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, also continued to classify the Philippines as a “flawed democracy,” alongside the United States, Japan, and Philippine neighbors Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

The other three regime types in the report are “full democracy” (e.g. the United Kingdom, Germany, and topnotcher Norway) “hybrid regime” (e.g. Thailand, Iraq, Pakistan) and “authoritarian regime” (e.g. China, Myanmar, Vietnam).

The Philippines’ current place is a notch down from its 2016 ranking. The country ranked eighth in its region, where the report also noted “declines” in the state of democracy.

“Australia and New Zealand remained the only two “full democracies” in the region as a whole. Asia’s two largest emerging democracies, India and Indonesia, suffered significant declines in their scores and fell down the rankings in our latest assessment,” the report said.

It further noted: “Asian democracies had a tumultuous year. A region that had made rapid progress up the rankings in recent years experienced the biggest decline of all regions between 2016 and our latest assessment for 2017.”

“Governments and powerful political and business interests in many Asian countries use defamation laws and related criminal provisions to punish criticism in the media, clamping down on critical commentary on social media.”

In terms of press freedom, the Philippines had a score of 7 on a scale of 0 to 10 and its media freedom status was ranked as “partly free.”

The Philippines also scored 9.17 in electoral process and pluralism, 5.71 in functioning of government, 7.22 in political participation, 4.38 in political culture, and 7.06 in civil liberties.

On the other hand, the Philippines placed 8^th in the regional ranking (Asia & Australasia), one point up from its 2016 ranking.

In its country assessment of the Philippines, the report said “the indefinite declaration of martial law in the southern state of Mindanao in the Philippines, and the rule of (the) country’s strongman leader, Rodrigo Duterte, adversely affected the quality of democracy in the Philippines. Mr. Duterte has led the way among the many Asian countries that are infringing (on) democratic values.”

The report also noted that in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines, “journalists face physical and death threats on a regular basis.”

Mr. Duterte himself “has castigated journalists and even issued death threats. The country has a history of repression of the media and violence against journalists. Mr. Duterte has managed to make an already bad situation even worse for the media in the Philippines,” the report said.

Sought for comment, Presidential Spokesperson Herminio Harry L. Roque, Jr. said: “One notch lower is nothing.”

Globally, the average score in the 2017 index “fell from 5.52 in 2016 to 5.48 (on a scale of 0 to 10).”

The report highlighted as well that “not a single region recorded an improvement in its average score compared with 2016.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

By Camille A. Aguinaldo

THE COMMISSION on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday deferred its voting on the appointment of Francisco T. Duque III as Health secretary, amid questions on the alleged “mafia-like operations” at the Department of Health (DoH) and the continuing controversy over the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

Senator Gregorio B. Honasan II, chair of the CA committee on health, told reporters that the issues raised during Mr. Duque’s confirmation hearing has to be processed and studied by the committee members.

“The Department of Health and the secretary have tremendous manpower and other resources at (their) discretion and… disposal. This is a big responsibility so the committee thinks that deliberations should be careful,” he said.

Mr. Duque said he respects the committee members should they need more time on deciding on his appointment. “I cannot second guess the CA,” he said.

Members of the CA quizzed Mr. Duque regarding the controversies hounding the agency. On an alleged mafia operating at the DoH, Mr. Duque and Carolina Vidal-Taiño, Health undersecretary for administration, finance and procurements, disputed allegations that some Health officials gained P500 million from the procurement of the Dengvaxia vaccines.

“We categorically say that there’s no mafia in the Department of Health nor any conversion of the P550 million,” she said.

Ms. Taiño explained that the remaining P556-million budget in question is with the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) as verified by the Commission on Audit (CoA).

Meanwhile, A TEACHER Party-list Representative Julieta R. Cortuna asked Mr. Duque about the measures the DoH has undertaken to address the concerns of parents regarding the suspended anti-dengue immunization program.

Mr. Duque told the CA he has ordered DoH regional directors to enhance surveillance and monitoring of vaccinated children, to establish a clear referral system for dengue patients as well as to reinforce the information campaign for parents whose children were vaccinated with Dengvaxia.

He added that DoH has asked Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur to set up a trust fund or an indemnification fund for patients whose illness was caused by the vaccine. He has also instructed the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to reimburse the hospital costs of Dengvaxia-vaccinated patients.

Also at the hearing, Senator Vicente C. Sotto III questioned the investigation of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) regarding the dengue-related deaths among vaccinated children, saying that the agency lacked the authority and expertise to conduct its probe.

“Who is investigating? Do we have a government-authorized forensic expert already? I don’t know how come the PAO is investigating scientific, medical issues….I read an article that there is no such thing as forensic expert in PAO,” he said.

He then challenged Mr. Duque “to (put) his foot down” and to make the DoH lead the investigation.

Mr. Duque said there are two panels investigating the immunization program, a group of technical experts and experts from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).

He added that the DoH has requested PAO’s findings for assessment by UP-PGH.

Sought for comment, PAO chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta said they were authorized by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate the deaths of children vaccinated with Dengvaxia, citing the DoJ’s department order 792 dated Dec. 12, 2017.

The DoJ order asked PAO to extend its free legal assistance to possible victims of adverse complications after being inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine.

Ms. Acosta also maintained that the PAO has the capability to conduct a forensic investigation on the Dengvaxia case.

“We have (had) forensic experts since 2004 and many cases were saved because of the examination of PAO forensic experts,” she said in a phone interview with reporters, noting PAO’s efforts during the Kian delos Santos case.

She also questioned Mr. Sotto’s remarks that the DoH should lead the investigation. “The people are complaining about the DoH because they implemented the mass vaccination. Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” Ms. Acosta said.

She added that PAO is set to file a case next week on the matter based on the evidence gathered from their investigation.