Senate Deputy Minority Leader Rodante Marcoleta once again raised the issue of Ombudsman — and former Justice Secretary — Boying Remulla’s earlier remark on “bending the law.”
The matter resurfaced during the Senate deliberations on the proposed budget of the Office of the Ombudsman for next year.
Marcoleta sought clarification on Remulla’s previous statement before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, where he appeared to agree with Senator Erwin Tulfo’s suggestion to “bend the law” in order to recover public funds lost in the flood control scandal.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance defending the Office of the Ombudsman’s budget, said the remark was merely a figure of speech.
However, Marcoleta insisted that such a statement could influence others into thinking that the law can indeed be twisted.
Gatchalian responded that Remulla assured him he would follow and uphold the law and enforce it accordingly.
Despite this assurance, Marcoleta still wanted to hear the statement directly from Remulla himself. He moved to suspend the rules to allow the Ombudsman to speak, but the Senate did not grant the request.