Ombudsman pressed to file flood control charges against Villanueva

Various groups have urged the Office of the Ombudsman to make good on its promise to file criminal cases against Senator Joel Villanueva over his alleged involvement in a flood control project, saying his transfer to the majority bloc should not be a free pass from prosecution.

The protesters, which include the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK), Oryang, among others, made the call following Villanueva's transfer to the majority bloc led by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

The groups pointed out that since Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla's pronouncement that the cases against Villanueva are ripe for filing more than two weeks ago, no case has been filed yet against the senator.

“Mahigit dalawang linggo na ang lumipas pero wala pa ring malinaw na aksyon. Dahil ba bumaliktad na siya, kumampi sa Gatchalian bloc?” the group asked.

(More than two weeks have passed, but there is no clear action on the part of the Ombudsman. Is it because he already joined the Gatchalian bloc?)

“Handa iyong bagong [Senate] majority na kupkupin si Villanueva. Anong na ang mangyayari sa kaso ni Villanueva? Sasampahan pa rin ba siya [ng kaso]? O dahil bumaliktad na siya, may posibilidad na bailable na lang ang ikaso sa kanya,” Christian Ancheta of SPARK told reporters.

The groups then urged the Ombudsman to fulfill its constitutional mandate by demonstrating independence, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring that no individual was placed above public scrutiny regardless of political affiliation or alliance.

Since Remulla was named Ombudsman in October 2025, his office has already filed five batches of flood control cases before the courts, namely:

• malversation and graft charges against resigned Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Co and at least 15 others over the P289 million alleged substandard road dike project in Oriental Mindoro;
• malversation and graft charges against contractor Sarah Discaya and several others over the P96.5 million alleged ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental;
• malversation and graft charges against former Senator Revilla, Jr., ex-Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez and five others over the alleged P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan;
• plunder and two counts of graft cases against Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan as well as DPWH National Capital Region District Engineers Manny Bulusan and Arturo Gonzalez, Jr. and Assistant District Engineer Denryl Caesar Cortuna over around P573 million worth of kickbacks off flood control projects and,
• malversation and graft cases against contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, eight DPWH officials and Ma. Angeline Discaya Rimando of the Discaya couple’s St. Timothy firm.

GMA News Online has reached out to Assistant Ombudsman Clavano and Villanueva for comment and will publish it as soon as it is available. —LDF, GMA News