Conchita Carpio Morales (; born Conchita Claudio Carpio; June 19, 1941) is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who served at the ombudsman of the Philippines serving from 2011 to 2018. Prior to this, she was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2002 to 2011. Across her career, she secured appointments from five Philippine presidents: Ferdinand Marcos, Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Benigno Aquino III.
Beginning her career in private practice, Carpio-Morales later joined the Department of Justice and served as a judge in lower courts. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2002, she became known for her independent stances, notably as the sole dissenter in the 2010 case that allowed outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to appoint the next chief justice during an election period. In a break from tradition, incoming President Benigno Aquino III chose Carpio-Morales to administer his oath of office in 2010, making her the first female magistrate to swear in a Philippine president.
As ombudsman, Carpio-Morales oversaw the indictment and dismissal of numerous high-ranking government officials, including senators and former presidents, particularly during the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam. Her aggressive anti-corruption campaign earned her the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016.
Following her retirement, she remained active in public affairs. In 2019, she filed a crimes against humanity communication against Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding activities in the South China Sea, and later served as co-convener of the political coalition 1Sambayan ahead of the 2022 elections.
Early life and education Conchita "Chit" Claudio Carpio was born on June 19, 1941, in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, to Lucas Dumlao Carpio Sr., a Justice of the Peace (now equivalent to a trial court judge), and Maria Claudio Carpio. Her father was a member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, while her mother was Catholic. She was baptized as a Catholic.
When she was younger, she played marbles, climbed the Paoay Tower, and memorized Shakespeare's passages on the urging of her father. She said that she wanted to be a princess and perform in front of people, especially during fiestas. She also had dreams of being an opera singer. She says she did not consciously plan to be a lawyer, but grew up surrounded by law books and the Official Gazette. According to her, "Perhaps subconsciously, I found the law profession exciting."
She attended Paoay Elementary School and spent her high school years at the Paoay North Institute. She achieved the honour as elementary and high school valedictorian. She was the only one among her six siblings who did not study in a Catholic school.
Active in extra-curricular activities, the young Chit played volleyball, the piano, and even did ballroom dancing by the time she reached college.
She then earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at the University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman, in 1964. In 1968, she earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines College of Law in Diliman. She passed the bar in 1969.
Early career Private practice Her first job was with the private law firm Atienza, Tabora & Del Rosario Law Offices, where she held the post of Assistant Attorney. She counts Atty. Arturo B. Atienza, her boss at the time, as one of her role models.
Department of Justice Carpio-Morales joined the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 1971 as Special Assistant to then Justice Secretary Vicente Abad Santos, her former law professor and long-time Dean of the UP College of Law. At the time, she reviewed resolutions of state prosecutors in criminal complaints that were ultimately for the Secretary.
According to her, her experience at the DOJ taught her “to marshal facts correctly. The most difficult part of deciding the case is marshaling the facts. The moment that you can marshal them, in the best way you can, then it’s just a matter of applying the law, right or wrong.”
Carpio-Morales mentioned that it was hard for her to find role models among women lawyers, because there was so few of them. However, she found her role models at the DOJ, whom she described as "...women of integrity, of competence, of uncrackable reputation.” These included Lorna Lombos dela Fuente, then Assistant Chief of the Legal Division of the Department, who became a Court of Appeals Justice, and Assistant Chief State Counsel Minerva Gonzaga Reyes, who become a Supreme Court Justice.
She worked at the DOJ for almost 12 years.
Lower courts In 1983, former President Ferdinand Marcos appointed Carpio-Morales as a Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge in Pili, Camarines Sur. President Corazon Aquino, Marcos' successor, then appointed Carpio-Morales as a Pasay RTC judge in 1986.
In 1994, then President Fidel V. Ramos appointed her to the Court of Appeals, where she eventually headed the 7th Division as Associate Justice.
Supreme Court
In 2002, upon the unanimous endorsement of the members of the Judicial and Bar Council, Carpio-Morales was appointed to the Supreme Court (SC) as Supreme Court Associate Justice by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
She was only the tenth woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
In De Castro v Judicial and Bar Council (2010), the question of whether or not then-President Arroyo was allowed to appoint the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was brought to the fore, given that then-outgoing Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno was retiring within the period that the 1987 Philippine Constitution prohibited the President from making appointments to executive positions. Three of the Supreme Court justices recused themselves from the case, two said that case was premature, and seven voted to allow the President to choose the next Chief Justice. Carpio-Morales was the sole dissenter. Supreme Court Associate Justice Renato Corona was then selected by President Arroyo to succeed Chief Justice Puno.
After being elected as the 15th President of the Philippines to replace Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III requested that Carpio-Morales administer his oath-taking. Traditionally, it is the Supreme Court's Chief Justice who administers the oath of office to the incoming President and Vice President. However, then-President-elect Aquino refused to have Chief Justice Renato Corona swear him into office due to Aquino's opposition to the midnight appointment. Carpio-Morales was Aquino's choice to swear him in. Carpio-Morales officially accepted the request, and administered the oath-taking of President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay on June 30, 2010, at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Manila.
Carpio-Morales is the first woman justice to administer the oath of office to an incoming President of the Philippines.
Notable Cases/Opinions John Hay Peoples Alternative Coalition v. Lim (2003) — on authority of the President to grant tax exemptions without congressional authorization Francisco v. House of Representatives (2003) — on the impeachment resolution against Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. La Bugal- B’Laan Tribal Association, Inc. v. Ramos I (2004) and II (2004) - Dissenting — on the constitutionality of the Mining Act of 1995 (Dissent joined by J. Ynares-Santiago) Tecson v. COMELEC (2004) - Dissenting — on the nationality of presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr. (joined by J. Quisumbing and Corona) Central Bank Employees v. BSP (2004) - Dissenting — on claims for wage increases of government employees in accordance with equal protection clause even absent enabling legislation CSC v. DBM (2005) — on fiscal autonomy of Civil Service Commission Yuchengco v. Sandiganbayan (2006) — on the recovery of shares of stock in PLDT as part of the ill-gotten wealth of Ferdinand Marcos Senate v. Ermita (2006) — on validity of presidential ban prohibiting executive officials testifying before legislative inquiries without presidential consent Santos-Concio v. Department of Justice (2008) — on the DOJ's conduct of preliminary investigation of the Wowoweee stampede incident Trillanes IV v. Pimentel, Sr. (2008) — on the general and blanket request of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who is detained for rebellion charges, to attend Senate Sessions The Province of North Cotabato v. Republic (2008) - on the unconstitutionality of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) aspect of the Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001 between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government of the Republic of the Philippines Topacio v. Ong (2008) - "on the qualification status of Justice Gregory Ong as Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan Strategic Alliance Development Corporation v. Radstock Securities Ltd. (2009) - Concurring — On the multi-billion peso compromise agreement between Radstock Securities Limited and Philippine National Construction Corporation De Castro v. Judicial and Bar Council (March 2010) - Dissenting and - Dissenting(April 2010) — On the President's power to appoint the Chief Justice vis-a-vis the Constitutional prohibition against appointments during the presidential election period. Biraogo vs. Philippine Truth Commission (December 2010) - Dissenting - On the validity and constitutionality of the establishment of the Philippine Truth Commission (PTC) Republic of the Philippines vs. Sandiganbayan, Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr, et al (April 2011) - Dissenting - On the disputed San Miguel Corporation shares of Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco which were allegedly purchased using coconut levy funds.
Office of the Ombudsman On July 25, 2011, during his State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III announced the appointment of Carpio-Morales as Ombudsman of the Philippines under the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB).gov.ph The Ombudsman is tasked to act on complaints against the officers or employees of the government, giving priority to complaints against high-ranking officials, covering grave offenses, and involving large sums of money or property.
When Carpio-Morales assumed office in 2011, she inherited a caseload of 11,000 pending criminal and administrative cases.
Under the leadership of Carpio-Morales, she professionalized and upgraded OMB's capabilities; revolutionized its anti-corruption program to include the designation of deputy ombudsmen for environmental concerns and for investment-related problems; and improved its responsiveness to calls for public assistance. She has also set a target of zero backlog in the investigation or adjudication of cases and disposition of all requests for assistance, and she expects to hit the target by 2018. The independence and quality of OMB's fact-finding investigations, evidence build-up, prosecution strategies and case management have also been improved. As a result, the conviction rate of cases handled by OMB before the Sandiganbayan from 2011 to 2015 rose from 33.3 percent to 74.5 percent.
She has prioritized the filing of cases against high-ranking officials, and has imposed strict administrative sanctions on high officials, including filing cases against a former president; a former vice-president; incumbent senators, congressmen, and governors. She is the first Ombudsman to use the waiver in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (required of government officials and employees) as a basis to secure bank records in impeaching one of the country's highest officials.
Recognizing that corruption is not just a matter of persons but systems, Carpio-Morales took the initiative in creating an integrity management-based program that mobilizes government agencies and the public and addresses the lack of strategy and direction in the overall anti-corruption campaign. She also advocated the passage of legislation to strengthen the OMB's investigative, disciplinary, asset recovery, and preventive powers.