MANILA – Sen. Joel Villanueva cried foul over what he branded as “political harassment” following Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla’s announcement that his office would move to enforce a 2016 dismissal order previously issued against the lawmaker for alleged misuse of P10 million in pork barrel funds.
Remulla said the decision — handed down during the term of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales — remains valid and “should be enforceable immediately” once officially transmitted to the Senate.
“We will write a letter to the Senate President and ask him to enforce that order,” Remulla said, calling it “the proper way to implement” the ruling.
But Villanueva was quick to push back, insisting the case was long settled in his favor.
“I already anticipated possible harassment plus fake news,” he told reporters, presenting clearances from the Office of the Ombudsman certifying that he has no pending criminal or administrative cases.
The senator said the Ombudsman had cleared him in 2019, rendering the old ruling moot and void.
“I’ve been cleared before,” Villanueva stressed. “I will not allow harassment to erase the truth.”
Villanueva also vowed legal action against those spreading misinformation about him.
“Filing cases din po kasi sa mga fake news spreaders,” he said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, said he would wait for the Ombudsman’s formal communication before issuing a statement or taking any step on the matter.
The renewed move to revive the case has reignited debate on the Ombudsman’s power to revisit settled rulings and the broader implications of reexamining past pork barrel controversies — an issue that continues to test the boundaries between accountability and political persecution./PN
