INCOMING Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla dismissed criticisms that his appointment to head the Office of the Ombudsman was meant to protect the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and to serve as an attack dog against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a radio interview, Remulla said he applied for the Ombudsman post to help the country and steer the government in the right direction.
“Iyang political process hindi natin maiiwasan yan marami talagang agam agam ‘yung prosesong pulitika. You know I’ve walked out of politics before and I can stay out of it again, at itong trabahong ito para sa bansa hindi para sa isang political camp,” Remulla said.
(That political process is something we can’t avoid; there will always be doubts about politics. You know, I’ve walked away from politics before, and I can stay out of it again. This job is for the country, not for any political camp.)
“Dapat talaga dito ‘yung bansa inaayos natin, ‘yung corruption talaga ang problema natin and tamaan na kung sino ang tatamaan pasensya nalang ang masasagasaan kasi ganon talaga ang gulong ng hustisya dapat walang sinisino,” he added.
(What we really need to fix here is the country; corruption is our real problem. And whoever gets hit, so be it—those who get run over will just have to understand, because that’s how the wheels of justice work—it should spare no one.)
Senator Imee Marcos earlier said Remulla’s appointment was aimed at jailing her brother’s political rivals, especially Duterte, in preparation for the 2028 presidential elections.
In April, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, chaired by Marcos, recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman the filing of charges against Remulla and several others over their alleged participation in the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his turnover to the International Criminal Court in The Hague “without due process.”
In September, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the cases filed against Remulla and several others over Duterte’s arrest.
Following the announcement of Remulla’s appointment, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Acting Secretary Dave Gomez said in a press conference Tuesday, October 7, that the outgoing justice secretary went through a “very rigorous process.”
“Remember, there’s always a process, and a very stringent process required under our Constitution. Then-Secretary Remulla went through that process, was vetted by the JBC (Judicial and Bar Council), and appointed by the president. So I don’t believe there’s any basis to that concern,” Gomez said.
Fixing the system
Remulla vowed to fix the system in the Office of the Ombudsman to ensure swift action on complaints, especially amid corruption issues hounding the country.
He noted the importance of case buildup to ensure quick convictions.
“Ang pilosopiya sa case build up when we filed the case in court we are ready to present our evidence at kahit mag-continuous trial ready ang prosecution. Yun po ‘yung kulang na kulang sa attitude nung araw na puro delay are proseso sa ating judiciary, sa prosecution, kasi minsan ang ebidensya hindi pa kumpleto tapos fina-file na ang kaso kaya dapat talaga rito i-case build up para tuloy-tuloy,” Remulla said.
(The philosophy in case buildup is that when we file a case in court, we’re already ready to present our evidence, and even if there’s a continuous trial, the prosecution is prepared. That’s what was severely lacking before—the attitude that led to so many delays in our judiciary and prosecution. Sometimes, cases were filed even when the evidence wasn’t complete, so we really need proper case buildup to keep things moving smoothly.)
“Kailangan ang mga proseso isaayos kung paano mapabilis ang mga investigation at ma-prosecute ang kaso. ‘Yun talaga ang problema. Talagang ‘yung justice delayed isang problema ng gobyerno. Sa DOJ (Department of Justice), na-improve namin ‘yan by case buildup. By raising the standard, we can do it also in the Office of the Ombudsman,” he added.
(The processes need to be fixed so investigations and prosecutions can move faster. That’s really the problem, justice delayed has long been an issue in government. At the DOJ, we improved that through case buildup. By raising the standard, we can also do the same in the Office of the Ombudsman.)
Remulla also said he may propose that the Office of the Ombudsman have its own marshals who would serve as its enforcement group to prevent information leaks.
“Para in secret, puwede kaming makakuha ng search warrants na hindi sisingaw, kasi ang problema talaga ngayon ‘yung singawan ng search warrants,” Remulla said.
(So, covertly we can obtain search warrants that won’t be leaked, because the real problem now is the leaking of search warrants.)
Remulla will take his oath Thursday, October 9.
He said pending the appointment of his replacement, Justice Undersecretary Fredderick Vida will serve as acting chief of the DOJ.(TPM/SunStar Philippines)