EDITORIAL - Make the charges stick

Plunder charges are ripe for filing against several senators, with Jinggoy Estrada the first to be indicted before the Sandiganbayan this Thursday, to be followed by Sen. Joel Villanueva within the next two weeks.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced this yesterday, adding that two cases were also being readied against former House speaker Martin Romualdez for the “grandest” case of conspiracy to defraud the national treasury.

Upon the ombudsman’s request, the Sandiganbayan also issued yesterday a precautionary hold-departure order against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, former Quezon City congressman Michael Defensor and two businessmen in connection with plunder and bribery charges they are facing related to P75 million in donations to Marcoleta’s 2025 campaign for the Senate.

Those calling for accountability can only hope that the ombudsman will build tight cases.

As secretary of justice, Remulla had raised the evidence requirement before filing cases in court, ordering state prosecutors to ensure that the evidence is sufficient not only to establish probable cause, but also to provide reasonable certainty of conviction.

Remulla had previously pointed out the difficulty of proving plunder, as he cited the numerous high-profile acquittals in the pork barrel scam.

Some of those acquitted, among them former senator Ramon Revilla Jr., are again facing plunder cases in connection with the flood control corruption scandal. Estrada is appealing a 2024 conviction for bribery related to the pork barrel scam.

In November 2016, Villanueva had been ordered dismissed from the service and barred from holding public office by then ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales for his administrative liability in the alleged misuse of his P10-million pork barrel when he was a party-list congressman of CIBAC, or Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption.

But the dismissal was reversed in September 2019 when Samuel Martires was the ombudsman. The Senate during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency also ignored the dismissal order, saying the ombudsman did not have the authority to oust an incumbent senator.

Remulla is now pursuing Villanueva for the flood control scandal.

The ombudsman had previously said a case for malversation through falsification of public documents – a non-bailable offense that could warrant life in prison – would be easier to establish than plunder.

A conspiracy to commit plunder could prove even tougher to establish. But Remulla is presumably guided by his own requirement for a case providing reasonable certainty of conviction. If the cases are eventually thrown out, it will reinforce the claim of the accused that they are merely being subjected to political persecution.