Ombudsman Remulla says he is 'living day by day' after leukemia diagnosis

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla over the weekend revealed that he is now living day by day, as he was diagnosed with leukemia after going through a quintuple bypass heart surgery in 2023 when he was still Justice Secretary.

Remulla shared that the leukemia diagnosis was made after his heart surgery in June 2023, following a physical examination the week before that showed a heart blockage.

“Nung 2023, na-diagnose ako sa puso na kailangan ko ng bypass, so nagpa-opera ako, nagkaroon ako ng quintuple bypass, open heart, at noong pagaling na ako ay na-diagnose naman ako ng cancer, leukemia, cancer ng dugo,” he said in TV5 interview.

(In 2023 I was diagnosed with a heart condition that required a bypass, so I underwent surgery, a quintuple bypass, an open heart operation, and just as I was recovering, I was then diagnosed with cancer — leukemia, cancer of the blood.)

Remulla said that he has since undergone treatment, including two cycles of chemotherapy and body irradiation in a hospital in Bonifacio Global City following the leukemia diagnosis. He also received a bone marrow transplant from his child.

“Ang bone marrow transplant, ‘pag wala ka nang white blood cells, lalagyan ka ng stem cell ng donor para magkaroon ka ng bagong bone marrow para palitan ‘yung bone marrow. ‘Yung ang pinaka-factory ng dugo, kaya ang dugo ko ngayon ay hindi na ‘yung dati kong dugo. Ito ay dugo na galing sa aking anak,” he said.

“Full match kami kaya naka-recover ako at mukhang maganda naman ang prognosis,” he added.

(A bone marrow transplant is done when you no longer have white blood cells. You are given stem cells from a donor to create new bone marrow to replace the old one. That is the blood factory, so the blood I have now is no longer my original blood. It is blood that came from my child.

We were a full match, so I was able to recover, and the prognosis looks good.)

Remulla said he experienced symptoms such as dizziness and feeling faint. He said he also had frequent nosebleeds that would not stop as there was a problem with his blood.

With his health condition, he said he is now taking it day by day, as he believes his recovery proves that he has more to do.

“Ang tingin ko lang, tomorrow is another day. Get through the night, mapalipas mo lang ang gabi, ‘pag gising mo sa umaga isang araw na naman ‘yun na naibigay sa iyo (If you get through the night, when you wake up in the morning, that is another day given to you). Natural, just live by the day,” he said.

“Siguro meron lang ano, meron lang talagang ano sa akin na marahil, may iba pa akong gagawin sa mundo kaya tuloy tuloy ang aking paggaling, pero maraming hamon pagkatapos ng treatment. Meron pa ring mga problema, pero hindi… Tuloy tuloy lang. Tuloy tuloy lang. Siguro meron pa akong ibang gagawin kaya ganon,” he added.

(Maybe there is just something in me that feels I still have something to do in the world, and that is why my recovery continues, but there have been many challenges after the treatment. There are still problems, but no… I will keep going. Maybe I still have something more to do.)

Remulla took his oath as Ombudsman before Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen on October 9, 2025.—LDF, GMA Integrated News