He is a graft-buster of the entire country and not just of certain groups, Malacañang said yesterday of former justice chief Jesus Crispin Remulla, whose appointment as ombudsman has drawn flak from critics doubting his impartiality.
‘The work of Ombudsman Remulla is for the entire country, not just for one sector or a group of Filipinos,’ Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a Palace briefing. Remulla is set to take his oath today as ombudsman.
Asked whether Remulla has direct orders from President Marcos to investigate the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of former administration ally-turned-arch critic Vice President Sara Duterte, Castro replied: ‘The work of the ombudsman is for the whole country. Whatever needs to be investigated should be investigated. It should neither be ignored nor neglected,’ she said, adding, ‘What needs to be known by the public should be investigated by the ombudsman.’
Critics and political foes of the administration have assailed Remulla’s appointment, claiming it was meant to pin down the Vice President and her allies.
Malacañang has brushed aside the allegation and expressed optimism that Remulla would be impartial in his investigations.
Castro also denied reports she was being eyed as the next secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
‘First of all, we don’t know where that report started, so there’s no truth to that,’ Castro told a press briefing in Filipino.
Asked whether she would accept the post should President Marcos offer it to her, Castro answered, ‘Hypothetical question, I cannot answer.’
She said the President has no shortlist yet for the next DOJ chief. ‘As of the moment, we have no details regarding that,’ Castro said.
Malacañang earlier designated DOJ Undersecretary Fredderick Vida as officer-in-charge.
Remulla, who was appointed DOJ chief in June 2022, replaced Samuel Martires, who retired in July.
Sara’s case for review
After Malacañang’s announcement of his appointment late Tuesday, Remulla said his office is set to review the pending complaints against the Vice President regarding her alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
‘Actually, the reports are already there at the ombudsman. We will review them, study them and we will confer with those who are currently handling the cases,’ Remulla said in English and Filipino at a press conference.
Duterte and nine other officials are accused of misuse of P500 million and P112.5 million in confidential funds of the OVP and DepEd, respectively, from 2022 to 2024.
Duterte concurrently served as secretary of DepEd in July 2022 until she resigned in July 2024.
It was revealed during House hearings that P125 million in confidential funds of the OVP in 2022 was spent in just 11 days.
In an interview yesterday, Remulla said he is also seeking a dialogue with the Sandiganbayan to coordinate swifter and ‘continuous’ trial of cases.
Remulla also made it clear he would not tolerate delaying tactics, particularly by those being accused of misdeeds.
He emphasized that the justice system is a dual responsibility, not just of the Office of the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice but also of courts.
Remulla also said he intends to adopt a policy on preliminary case evaluation being practiced in the DOJ to ‘weed out nuisance’ complaints. Such policy, he earlier told the Judicial and Bar Council, recognizes the preeminence of ‘reasonable certainty of conviction’ over prima facie evidence.
SALN access
The appointment of Remulla has been widely welcomed with retired Supreme Court (SC) senior associate justice Antonio Carpio urging him to take this as an opportunity to open the SALN of government officials to the public.
He, however, said private information that do not involve assets or liabilities – such as their residence, the names of their children – should be redacted.
‘The people have lost faith in all institutions of government. They have lost faith in the executive, legislative and even in the judiciary. The Office of the Ombudsman, I call it the second most powerful office of government, could turn the tide,’ Carpio said over radio dzBB.