Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla on Tuesday confirmed that approximately nine to ten senators are currently under investigation by his office, with at least three to four more set to face charges beyond those already publicly announced against Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Senator Joel Villanueva, and Senator Rodante Marcoleta.
When pressed for a total count, Remulla confirmed the figure without elaborating on who the remaining senators under investigation are. “Probably around 9 to 11,” the Ombudsman said when asked about the number.
Remulla said the cases being prepared against the additional senators involve serious violations of law, though he declined to specify whether all of them would face plunder charges.
“Meron pa kaming mga pinag-aaralan na mabibigat na kaso. Hindi kasi madaling maglatag ng kaso, tandaan niyo ‘yan. ‘Pagka ang kalaban mo maraming pera tapos may kapangyarihan at matagal na nandiyan, hindi madali,” he said, stressing that the Ombudsman is being deliberate and careful in building each case to avoid the 15-year delays that have historically plagued Sandiganbayan proceedings.
The Ombudsman said the cases against the additional senators are being prepared with the same standard of evidence as those against Estrada and Villanueva—meaning the Ombudsman will only file when the evidence is airtight and ready for continuous trial.
“Ito talaga dinadahan-dahan namin, iniingatan namin ang pagkalap ng ebidensya sapagkat one shot lang ‘to. Hindi mo naman pwedeng araw-arawin ‘yan, mabibigat na tao ‘yan. Hindi naman ‘to mga ordinaryong mamamayan. Ito talaga mabibigat na tao, mabibigat na tao,” Remulla said.
Remulla firmly rejected suggestions that the Ombudsman is singling out senators from any particular political bloc, saying his mandate covers everyone regardless of political affiliation or whether they belong to the majority or minority.
“Ang trabaho ng Ombudsman, lahat. Ngayon, marami akong pinirmahan na preventive suspension sa mga mayors. Andiyan na kay Odong Duterte ngayon. Marami kaming pinaparusahan na kaso dito,” he said.
Beyond the senators, the Ombudsman confirmed that former Speaker Martin Romualdez faces two cases being prepared—a money laundering case and what Remulla called the “grandest case of all”: an unprecedented conspiracy to defraud the treasury through the national budget.
“Itong pinakamabigat na kaso diyan, the conspiracy to defraud the treasury. ‘Yun talaga ‘yan sa pamamagitan ng budget. Hindi madali ilatag ‘yan. First time ‘to gagawin sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas na magkakaroon tayo ng ganitong klaseng kaso,” Remulla said.
The Ombudsman said the House of Representatives is actively obstructing his investigation into the Romualdez cases by refusing to cooperate with subpoenas and declining to surrender records from the Committee on Operations and the Committee on Appropriations.
“They even refuse to accept the subpoena. Of course, we can always issue preventive suspensions if we have to,” Remulla warned, adding that the obstruction only confirms to him that there are people in the House who do not want the truth to come out.
Remulla said the budget insertions at the heart of the conspiracy case are those that appeared in the final version of the national budget without going through plenary deliberation—amendments that were never debated on the floor but somehow found their way into the final document.
“Ang hinahanap mo rito ‘yung amendments na wala man sa record na okay, ‘yung in-insert na lang sa loob ng final version ng budget. Mga amendments na hindi kasama sa plenary deliberation pero bigla na lang nagbago, nag-milagro,” he said.
The Ombudsman also called on the Supreme Court to revisit its plunder doctrine, saying previous judicial rulings created requirements that were never in the plunder law and have effectively made it difficult to prosecute.
“If you look at it as an academician, if you look at the plunder law and then what was written in the Supreme Court decision before, there were some exaggerated requirements that were not there in the law that has to be revisited, or otherwise it’s going to become a dead law,” Remulla said.
Remulla expressed confidence that the court system is aware of what is at stake and is capable of delivering justice—saying he is not giving up on the courts and that they deserve the chance to vindicate themselves.
“The court system natin is very much aware of what we are up against at alam nila that we have to work together to be able to solve this problem of corruption in the country. And they’re the most vital cog of all when it comes to this,” he said.
“Restitution is always open. We can always talk about it, and we can always agree if people are reasonable. Basta ‘yung pinag-uusapan na halaga, walang tawaran. Isoli ‘yung dapat isoli,” Remulla said, adding that those who choose to cooperate and return what they took from the public will always find the door open at the Ombudsman’s office.
