The Senate has been formally notified of the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision reversing the 2016 dismissal order against Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva in connection with the pork barrel scam.
According to reports, while the reversal was not publicly announced at the time, the Office of the Ombudsman, under former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, informed the office of then-Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III for reference and guidance.
An endorsement signed by Assistant Ombudsman Jose Balmeo Jr. on September 16, 2019, indicated the dismissal of Villanueva’s case. The reversal was officially approved three days earlier, on September 13, 2019, by Martires himself.
Martires reportedly granted Villanueva’s motion for reconsideration in just one day, overturning the earlier decision of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, who had ordered Villanueva’s dismissal from public service in 2016. Morales had found Villanueva guilty of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service over the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) channeled to questionable non-government organizations.
Despite the endorsement sent to the Senate, the reversal was never made public, and no reports of the 2019 order appeared online at the time.
Current Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla recently described Martires’ reversal as a “secret” dismissal order, noting that while the case involves a publicly elected official, transparency was lacking.
The issue resurfaced after Remulla expressed plans to enforce the Ombudsman’s existing dismissal orders, reopening discussions on accountability and public trust surrounding long-standing PDAF-related cases.