The House prosecution panel may collectively decide whether former Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang will be presented as a witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, according to House Committee on Justice Chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro.
In an interview Monday on DZRH’s Dos Por Dos, Luistro said the matter remains subject to deliberation once the prosecution team is fully constituted, noting that Carandang’s potential testimony would depend on both strategic relevance and his willingness to appear.
“There is a possibility the decision will come from the entire prosecution panel,” Luistro said, emphasizing that cooperation from a witness would be crucial given the formal requirements of impeachment proceedings.
She added that while compulsory processes exist in impeachment courts, presenting an unwilling witness could pose practical challenges during trial proceedings.
Luistro also pointed out that Carandang was previously linked to the initial disclosure of an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report involving alleged unexplained wealth connected to the Duterte family.
“Si then overall Deputy Ombudsman Carandang, ang unang naglabas nitong AMLC report, which was totally belied by the former president at humantong pa nga sa kanyang dismissal as overall Deputy Ombudsman.”
The information later became part of public discussions through documents referenced by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
“Since then, hindi na natin narinig si Karandang and it was Senator Sonny Trillanes who kept on sharing to the public kung ano yung mga dokumentong nakuha ni overall Deputy Ombudsman Carandang.”
“This pertains to the same AMLC report or allegations of Sen. Trillanes in his affidavit about the bank accounts of the Duterte family.”
She said Carandang’s role, if any, in the impeachment proceedings would depend on whether the prosecution panel deems his account necessary in establishing allegations of unexplained wealth.
Luistro added that the panel would also consider procedural options, including the possibility of directly subpoenaing financial records during the Senate impeachment trial.
The Justice Chair noted that unlike earlier proceedings in the House where there were legal debates over access to bank records, the Senate acting as an impeachment court may have broader latitude in issuing subpoenas for relevant documents.
“Unlike yun ang nangyari sa amin, may mga debates pa about pag-subpoena yung bank records kaya we opted to subpoena instead na AMLC. Ito namang sa Senate, pwede namang diretsuhin na nila because no doubt this is an impeachment case.”
The discussion comes in the context of a recent Supreme Court ruling that voided former President Rodrigo Duterte’s dismissal of Carandang as Overall Deputy Ombudsman.
In a decision promulgated Jan. 29, 2026 and later posted publicly, the Court’s Third Division ruled that the president has no administrative or disciplinary authority over a deputy ombudsman.
Carandang had been involved in 2017 in investigations into alleged ill-gotten wealth tied to the former president after then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales inhibited from the case.
