Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva has released documents showing that the case filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman was already dismissed years ago.
This came after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced on Thursday, October 23, that he planned to send a letter to Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III to enforce the 2016 dismissal order against Villanueva. The case was related to the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) when he served as CIBAC Party-list representative in 2008.
In a statement on Thursday, Villanueva denounced the renewed attention on the issue, calling it political harassment worsened by the spread of misinformation.
“Self explanatory po. We already anticipated possible harassment plus fake news,” the senator said.
Villanueva released three documents to support his claim that the case had long been resolved. One of the documents stated that his case was formally dismissed on July 31, 2019.
“In fact, there is no probable cause against Villanueva… the signatures appearing on top of his name were obviously forged… Accordingly, the present case is hereby DISMISSED,” the document read.
He also shared a clearance reportedly issued on September 10, 2025, certifying that he has no pending criminal or administrative cases with the Ombudsman.
“This certifies that our records show that as of 09 September 2025, Emmanuel Joel Jose Villanueva… has no pending criminal and administrative cases with the Office of the Ombudsman,” the clearance stated.