Former Ombudsman Samuel Martires made explosive revelations about alleged corruption inside the Office of the Ombudsman, following controversy over his supposed “secret decision” to reverse a dismissal order previously issued by former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales against Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva.
The case involved Villanueva’s alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) when he was still the CIBAC Party-list Representative in 2008.
In a television interview, Martires admitted that he intentionally kept several decisions of his office private to prevent insiders from leaking or selling them to parties with vested interests.
“‘Yung ginagawa ko hindi dapat malaman ni Atty. Trixie. Why? Baka kapag nalaman ni Atty. Trixie, ibenta ‘yung ginagawa ko. All Atty. Trixie has to do, if my recommendation is favorable to the respondent, look for the respondent and tell the respondent, ‘Gusto mo manalo sa kaso mo? Bigay ka lang ng ₱20 million… ako nang bahala kay Ombudsman. Wala namang kaalam-alam ‘yung Ombudsman,’” Martires explained.
He went on to describe a specific incident in Batangas, involving ₱25 million, where the reversal of an investigating officer’s findings allegedly led to the return of the money.
“Ang delikado lang du’n which happened in one case, ni-reverse ng Ombudsman ‘yung recommendation nung investigating officer, ‘yung findings. So medyo may nagbalik ng ₱25 million doon sa kasong ‘yon. This is a case somewhere in Batangas. ‘Yun ang nakakatakot doon. So hindi pupuwedeng sasabihin mo ‘yung ginagawa mo eh. Otherwise mabubukulan ka,” Martires said.
The revelation came after current Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla disclosed that Martires had allegedly issued a “secret decision” dismissing the charges against Villanueva, reigniting public debate over transparency and accountability within the anti-graft agency.