THE husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, lawyer Manases Carpio, will challenge the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office’s recommendation to dismiss his complaint and is considering refiling it before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Carpio’s counsel, Peter Paul Danao, said on Wednesday they are awaiting the official copy of the Sept. 7 resolution before deciding on their next legal steps.
“At the very least, our client retains the option to refile the complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman, which the resolution itself identifies as the proper forum based on its jurisdictional finding,” Danao said in a statement.
The complaint was dismissed without prejudice on jurisdictional grounds, with the prosecutor’s office finding that the acts complained of were committed in relation to public office and should be brought before the proper forum.
Carpio filed the complaint over the disclosure of his and Duterte’s financial records during the impeachment proceedings, accusing lawmakers and government officials of violating banking, anti-money laundering and data privacy laws.
Danao said the dismissal did not resolve the allegations on their merits.
“The resolution therefore does not constitute a final determination on the merits of the allegations raised in the complaint,” Danao said.
Meanwhile, House prosecutor Terry Ridon welcomed the dismissal, calling Carpio’s complaint “malicious” and baseless.
“It is only right that the prosecutor’s office dismissed Mans Carpio’s malicious and baseless complaint against our House prosecutors and other lawmakers,” he said.
Ridon added that the “world of the Duterte-Carpio couple” was getting smaller and that the matter was heading toward the “exciting part.” House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima called the case a harassment suit.
“This is a welcome development, especially since this is merely a harassment suit meant to intimidate lawmakers who are just carrying out their duties,” de Lima said in a post on X.
“We will continue to demand transparency and accountability. Just as before, we will confront those behind any form of oppression and abuse, in the pursuit of truth, justice and accountability,” she added in Filipino.
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno noted the outcome as a reaffirmation of how the justice system works.
“We welcome the decision of the prosecutor’s office to dismiss the case,” Diokno said.
“We placed our trust in our justice system, and in the end, truth and justice prevailed over baseless accusations,” he added.