Ombudsman may recommend lawmaker dismissal, Congress can reject —law expert

The Ombudsman may recommend a dismissal of a lawmaker, and the Senate or the House of Representatives will decide whether to reject or abide by it, a constitutional law expert said Friday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, former University of the East-College of Law dean Amado Valdez said that the Ombudsman’s order is “recommendatory” under the law, but this is a “premium” recommendation as there is an assumption that the Ombudsman is a person of high moral integrity and competence.

“Pwede nilang i-reject 'yun. Para andyan ‘yung checks and balance. If you have an Ombudsman that will be perceived na very partisan at nagalit. So may option sila ngayon na they use their authority para hindi ma-abuse,” he said.

(They can reject that. So there’s a system of checks and balances. If you have an Ombudsman that will be perceived as very partisan and angry, then they now have the option to use their authority to prevent abuse.)

“Ngayon kung convincing naman 'yung decision na maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw 'yung mga ebidensya at reasoning, mananagot sila sa taumbayan kung hindi nila i-impose 'yung decision to discipline,” he added.

(Now, if the decision is convincing and the evidence and reasoning are as clear as daylight, they will be held accountable to the people if they fail to impose the decision to discipline.)

Section 21 of Republic Act 6770 or The Ombudsman Act of 1989 states that the Office of the Ombudsman shall have disciplinary authority over all elective and appointive officials of the government and its subdivisions, instrumentalities, and agencies, including members of the Cabinet, local government, government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries, except over officials who may be removed only by impeachment or over members of Congress, and the Judiciary. 

This comes amid the discussion on the dismissal order issued by then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales in 2026 against Senator Joel Villanueva in connection with the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund when he was still a party-list representative.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Thursday that he was going to ask Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III to implement the dismissal order.

However, Villanueva said that the complaint was dismissed in 2019 under former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, with Remulla calling it “a secret decision.”

According to Valdez, the Senate should convene to look into the Ombudsman’s recommendation.

“Lahat ng mga members ng Senate will be the members of the Committee on Ethics at sila ang magdecide. Parang peer decision ‘yan at sila ang magdecide, ko-confront nila ‘yung kanilang member. Ito ‘yung charge sa'yo, ito ang ebidensya laban sa'yo at ito ang desisyon,” he said.

(All the members of the Senate will be the members of the Committee on Ethics, and they will be the ones to decide. It’s like a peer decision, and they will confront their fellow member. This is the charge against you, this is the evidence against you, and this is the decision.)

When asked if the case can be revived despite the dismissal, Valdez said that there is already a pending case over anomalous flood control projects.

He said that the senators alleged to be involved are “principals by indispensable cooperation.”

“Ibig sabihin, hindi nagagawa 'yung insertion kung hindi ka senador, so ito lang bagay na ito, this could be a good basis na for a case to be filed sa Ombudsman at ang Ombudsman can test the Senate at mag-issue siya ng preventive suspension,” he said.

(It means the insertion cannot be done unless you are a senator. So this alone could be a good basis for a case to be filed with the Ombudsman, and the Ombudsman can test the Senate by issuing a preventive suspension.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News