MANILA — Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla on Thursday withdrew his plan to ask the Senate to enforce a 2016 dismissal order against Senator Joel Villanueva, after learning the case had already been quietly overturned years ago.
Earlier in the day, Remulla announced he would send a letter to the Senate to carry out the order issued by then-Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. The 2016 ruling stemmed from allegations that Villanueva misused his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2008, during his time as a party-list representative for CIBAC.
But the twist came hours later, when former Ombudsman Samuel Martires confirmed that he had granted Villanueva’s motion for reconsideration in 2019, effectively voiding the dismissal order.
“I was surprised by the decision. Lumabas lang siya nung sinabi kong may gagawin ang Ombudsman tungkol dyan. So it’s a surprise secret decision,” Remulla said, expressing frustration that the reversal never surfaced publicly. “Nobody was raising that issue before. Villanueva kept quiet through all the years. Ombudsman Martires never spoke about it,” he added.
The Senate had previously rejected implementing the 2016 order, maintaining that only the chamber itself—not the Ombudsman—has the authority to discipline or remove its members.
Martires’ admission that he dismissed the complaints years ago appears to close the chapter on a long-standing controversy surrounding Villanueva’s alleged pork barrel misuse. Still, Remulla’s comments underscore what he described as a lack of transparency in how the case was handled.
“It’s a surprise, secret decision,” he reiterated, suggesting that even within the Office of the Ombudsman, the reversal had not been clearly communicated.
