Villanueva hits back at move to revive 2016 dismissal: ‘Harassment’
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Joel Villanueva accused Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla of "harassment" after the anti-graft chief announced plans to ask the Senate to enforce a nearly decade-old dismissal order that tied the lawmaker to the pork-barrel scandal.
The move, Remulla said, sits on a long-standing gray area on whether the Ombudsman's jurisdiction to dismiss sitting officials extends to sitting legislators.
Remulla said his letter to Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III aims to create a “justiciable controversy” that would compel the Supreme Court to rule on the matter once and for all.
"This office was created by the Constitution. It cannot be less important than the rules of the Senate or the rules of the House," Remulla said in an ANC interview on Thursday morning.
But Villanueva dismissed the pronouncement as political theater, saying the 2016 case had already been cleared by the courts.
"Self-explanatory, po. We already anticipated possible harassment plus fake news," he said in a message to reporters.
Documents dated Sept. 10, 2025 that Villanueva shared included certifications from both the Sandiganbayan and the Office of the Ombudsman stating he is not facing any criminal or administrative cases. He did not elaborate on when or why these were filed.
Sotto, meanwhile, told OneNews he would "wait for the communication" before commenting on the Ombudsman's letter.
An old dismissal
Villanueva was dismissed by former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales in 2016 for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service over the alleged misuse of P10 million from his 2008 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) when he was a CIBAC party-list representative.
The funds were allegedly diverted to a bogus non-government organization for “ghost” agricultural projects.
The penalty included perpetual disqualification from public office, though Villanueva continued to serve after the ruling was left unenforced by congressional leaders.
In December 2016, however, senators voted to ignore the Ombudsman's dismissal of Villanueva, upon the motion of Sotto—then the Senate majority leader—himself.
Flood control links
Remulla’s latest pronouncement comes as Villanueva faces renewed scrutiny after former Bulacan engineers accused him of receiving a 30% cut from multimillion-peso flood control projects in the province.
Former district engineer Henry Alcantara earlier claimed Villanueva sought P1.5 billion in funding for a multipurpose building project linked to the flood control program but received only P600 million.
Villanueva has denied wrongdoing.
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