'Secret decision' to dismiss raps vs. Villanueva? Palace says it's alarming

Malacañang on Friday said if indeed true, the ''secret'' dismissal of the complaints against Senator Joel Villanueva in connection with the alleged misuse of Priority Development Assistance Fund was alarming. 

''Kung ito po ay mapapatunayang totoo, ito po ay nakakabahala,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a briefing. 

Castro also said the country's justice system should not be the subject of doubt. 

''Dahil hindi dapat nagkakaroon ng pagdududa ang taumbayan sa ating justice system considering na ito po ang isa sa pinakamahalagang ahensiya upang maiwasan at matugunan ang issue about sa korapsiyon sa bansa,'' she said.

(There shouldn't be any doubt as regards the justice system considering that it is one of the most important agencies that addresses corruption issues in the country.)

Asked if the former Ombudsman who released the decision could be held liable if proven that the decision was indeed kept as a secret, Castro said it would depend on the situation.

She said the matter should be investigated. 

''Kahit sila ay independent body, dapat din nating sabihin sa kanila/sa atin, sa pamamagitan natin na dapat ito talagang maimbestigahan nang malaliman upang kung anuman ang may pagkakamali, kung anuman ang nalabag na batas kung mayroon man ay dapat itong masolusyunan at maitama ng Office of the Ombudsman,'' Castro said. 

(Even though the Ombudsman is an independent body, we can tell them that this must be probed thoroughly so that if a mistake was committed, this should be addressed and corrected by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla earlier disclosed that the dismissal was a ''secret decision,'' adding that it was hard to believe that a resolution concerning public interest by the previous Ombudsman would not be released to the public.

Former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, however, said that the decision was never a secret. 

“Aba ay hindi ko alam kung anong sikreto sa amin. Kasi mayroon kaming tinatawag na CCMS, 'yung case management system. Kapag 'yung kaso ay nare-release, napapasok ‘yan sa system eh. So nandun sa system na nadismiss ko ‘yun, ang date ay July 2019,” he said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB Thursday.

(Well, I don't know what secret we are keeping. We have what we call the CCMS, the case management system. When the case is released, it enters the system. So, it is in the system that I dismissed that case, the date was July 2019.) 

“Ayan naman ay ibinigay sa may complainant, sa complainant, binigay kay Senator Joel. So hindi ko alam bakit sasabihin na may sikreto akong ginawa? Wala akong sikretong ginagawa sa aking trabaho, na lahat ay nakabuyangyang,” he added. 

(That, in turn, was given to the complainant; it was given to Senator Joel. So, I don't know why it would be said that I did something secret. I am not doing anything secret in my work; everything is exposed to the public.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News