Remulla seeks to enforce Villanueva's dismissal over 2016 case
MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said he will formally ask Senate President Vicente Sotto III to suspend Sen. Joel Villanueva, reviving a 2016 dismissal order that has never been enforced.
Speaking on ANC’s “Headstart” on Tuesday, October 23, Remulla said he will write Sotto to enforce the order former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales issued against Villanueva.
“I will try to have it done today so I can deliver it to him tomorrow when I go to the Senate,” Remulla said.
As of press time, the Ombudsman’s office has yet to release a formal written statement.
2016 ruling on PDAF misuse
Villanueva was ordered dismissed in 2016 for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service over the alleged misuse of P10 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations in 2008, when he was still a CIBAC party-list representative.
The money was reportedly intended for agricultural and livelihood projects but was instead funneled into a bogus NGO, with fabricated documents and fictitious beneficiaries, making the initiative a “ghost project.”
Remulla said the order was never implemented by the House Speaker or the Senate president at the time, allowing Villanueva to continue holding office despite the standing dismissal and disqualification order.
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Clash over enforcement power. Remulla said the issue highlights a constitutional question that only the Supreme Court can settle — whether the Ombudsman’s disciplinary rulings against lawmakers must be automatically enforced by the legislature.
“This office was created by the Constitution. It cannot be less important than the rules of the Senate or the rules of the House,” he said.
He said his forthcoming letter to Sotto aims to create a “justiciable controversy” that would compel the judiciary to issue a definitive ruling on the Ombudsman’s authority over sitting legislators.
“This has to come to a head, and we are relying on the judiciary to come up with a pronouncement on this matter,” Remulla said.
Flood control kickback allegations. Villanueva has also been implicated in the flood control kickback scandal, after former Bulacan assistant engineer Brice Hernandez alleged that the senator received 30% shares from multimillion-peso projects in the province.
Former district engineer Henry Alcantara also claimed Villanueva requested P1.5 billion for a multipurpose building linked to flood control, though only P600 million was eventually allotted.
Villanueva has yet to issue a statement as of press time.
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Erratum: We earlier reported that the dismissal order was issued in 2015. This has been corrected to 2016.
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