Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday said he would no longer ask the Senate to implement a 2016 dismissal order against Sen. Joel Villanueva, following the revelation of what he tagged as a ‘secret decision.’
This developed after Remulla earlier said that he would write to Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III to seek Villanueva’s dismissal from public office.
His plan stemmed from the Senate’s alleged failure to implement a 2016 order ousting the senator from his post.
However, Remulla said that after declaring his intent to pursue the dismissal, a decision signed by his predecessor, Samuel Martirez, suddenly surfaced, reversing the 2016 order. ‘To my surprise, when I got to the office, I was confronted with a decision signed by former Ombudsman Martirez dated July 2019,’ said Remulla in a chance interview.
‘So I was surprised by that decision. It only came out when I said the ombudsman will do something about that. So it’s a surprise secret decision that came out,’ he narrated.
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According to Remulla, no one knew about the Martirez’s decision reversing the 2016 order, including people close to the ombudsman’s office.
‘Even [Senate President] Tito Sotto didn’t know about it. They released it now. So don’t you call that a secret decision?’ the ombudsman asked. Remulla then said that he will study the reversal and why it was it only showed up now.
‘It’s a very mysterious decision because it’s a public interest decision. He (Villanueva) ran for public office. He was elected senator. So it’s a very newsworthy thing. And it’s something that is in the public interest,’ the ombudsman pointed out. Asked if this means he will no longer send the letter to the Senate asking the lawmakers to enforce the 2016 order, Remulla responded in the affirmative.
‘No. Not anymore, because our premises have already changed. Things are different now,’ he explained. /apl