WITH less than three months before the term of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales expires, President Rodrigo Duterte has some ideas on who the next anti-graft chief should be.

"The JBC will nominate (the next Ombudsman). But I will choose, and I want a person who is admired by people because of his integrity. Of course, it could not be a politician, especially not a woman," the President said in an interview with Palace reporters Wednesday, May 16.

Morales, who earned Duterte's ire for purportedly siding with the opposition party and allowing her office to investigate Duterte over alleged ill-gotten wealth, is set to retire on July 26, 2018.

Duterte said he would consult the "Ombudsman people," except Morales, before selecting the new head of the anti-graft body.

"I have to consult everybody. I will even have to consult the Ombudsman people, not Morales," he said.

On the application of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III for the post of the Ombudsman, Duterte said: "I will assign him (Bello) as labor attaché to Kuwait."

Last year, Duterte launched a series of tirades against Morales for allegedly being "corrupt" and "illegally obtaining" evidence on the allegedly questionable wealth of his family.

In October 2017, the President mulled the filing of an impeachment complaint against Morales on the grounds of "selective justice and the use of falsified documents" against him and his family. (SunStar Philippines)