OMBUDSMAN Jesus Crispin Remulla said the dismissal of charges against embattled Senator Joel Villanueva over the alleged misuse of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was done secretly.
In a press conference on Thursday, October 23, 2025, Remulla said former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales issued the dismissal order against Villanueva in 2016 but his successor, former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, dismissed the case in 2019.
“Lumabas lang siya nung sinabi ko na may gagawin ang Ombudsman tungkol diyan. So it is a surprise, secret decision, Hindi naman napublish yan, di 'yan nilabas. Nobody knew about it. Kahit sa Senate hindi nila alam 'yan. (He only came out when I said that the Ombudsman would take action on it. So it was a surprise, secret decision — it wasn’t published or made public. Nobody knew about it, not even the Senate.) Don't you call that a secret decision? It is not harassment. It is what everybody thinks is still valid, but turned out to be not valid anymore due to a secret decision,” said Remulla.
“It is a very mysterious decision. He ran for public office. He was elected senator. So it is a very newsworthy thing. It is something that is in the public interest,” he added.
Earlier the day, Remulla said he will ask Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III to enforce a 2016 Ombudsman ruling expelling Villanueva from the Senate due to alleged misuse of at least P10 million worth of his PDAF.
In response, Villanueva said the case was dismissed in 2019.
In a radio interview, Martires denied Remulla’s remark that the dismissal order was issued secretly.
He said his decision to dismiss the case was due to the forged signature of Villanueva on the evidence presented.
“Kasi ang ginamit na pangalan sa request ng Buhay Party-list ay pangalan ni Senator Joel Villanueva nung siya ay congressman pa. Finorge ‘yung signature at there is no evidence on record na ‘yung pera na natanggap ng Buhay party-list ay napunta kay Senator Joel Villanueva,” said Martires.
(Because the name used in the Buhay Party-list request was that of Senator Joel Villanueva when he was still a congressman. His signature was forged, and there is no evidence on record showing that the money received by the Buhay Party-list ever went to Senator Joel Villanueva.)
“Alam mo kasi madaling magbintang na mayroon kang PDAF, binigyan ka ng project, na ‘yung pera na ‘yun ay napunta sa’yo. Mahirap patunayan nun unless there is really proof….Pero kung wala, bakit natin ipipilit ‘yung ating maling pananaw sa buhay,” he added.
(You know, it’s easy to accuse someone of having a PDAF, of being given a project, and of taking the money. But it’s hard to prove that unless there’s real evidence… But if there’s none, why insist on holding on to a wrong belief or mindset?
Remulla said they will look into the case again as he withdrew his request to Sotto. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)