October 24, 2025
In the arena of public trust and institutional integrity, every act of governance must be transparent, accountable, and on the record. Yet a disturbing anomaly now presses upon our democratic conscience: the case of Senator Joel Villanueva, whose public dismissal order in 2016 remains legally and morally operative despite a purported secret annulment concocted in the shadows.
Former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay has articulated what may become a landmark assertion of law and principle:
“If it is true, as Ombudsman Remulla asserts, that the cases against Sen. Villanueva were dismissed in secret, then Ombudsman Remulla should treat such order as a mere internal memo subject to his reconsideration or reversal.”
Hilbay’s position is more than technically sound — it is a moral imperative. It demands action, daylight, and courage.
The 2016 Dismissal: A Public Act with Binding Consequences
In November 2016, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales publicly dismissed Villanueva from public service for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service over alleged misuse of P10 million in PDAF funds.
This was not a rumor. It was an official, published, and widely reported act. It carried full legal force, gave notice to the nation, and invited constitutional review if challenged.
The 2019 “Secret Reversal”: A Procedural Mirage
Fast forward to Ombudsman Samuel Martires, who allegedly issued a dismissal reversal in secret — unpublished, undisclosed, and unknown even to the public whose interests were at stake.
As current Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla himself reportedly said:
“’Di naman na-publish ‘yan, ‘di ‘yan nilabas. Nobody knew about it.”
A ruling that affects the public cannot exist in the dark. It cannot nullify a prior public judgment if it was never properly promulgated. It cannot deprive the people — and any interested party — of their right to contest it before higher judicial review.
The Legal Logic Is Unassailable
Hilbay’s argument rests on firm legal bedrock:
✅ A public decision cannot be undone by a secret one.
✅ Finality of dismissal remains unless properly reversed in valid, transparent form.
✅ Due process demands notice, publication, and openness.
✅ A secret memo is merely internal and has no binding public force.
✅ The prior dismissal remains operable until lawfully set aside.
Therefore, Ombudsman Remulla is not only justified — he is duty-bound — to treat the unpublished reversal as void and move to enforce the 2016 ruling.
The Senate Now Stands at a Crossroads
The Ombudsman has signaled readiness to formally ask the Senate to enforce the dismissal. If the Senate believes in institutional honor, it must comply.
To do otherwise would be to endorse secrecy over transparency, silence over accountability, and private maneuvering over the rule of law.
This is not about Senator Villanueva alone. This is about the very soul of public office, about whether corruption cases may live and die in dark rooms, and about whether the Filipino people still have the right to demand justice in broad daylight.
Justice in Shadows Is Injustice
Let us be clear: Accountability hidden is accountability denied.
Any system that allows secret absolution of public officials becomes a system rigged against the governed. If dismissal can be undone in silence, then corruption can be absolved without consequence. That is not justice — that is betrayal.
A Call to Defend Daylight
Florin Hilbay’s proposition is not merely a legal recommendation — it is a restoration of trust in law, a revival of respect for institutions, and a declaration that no senator, secretary, or president may hide from the public’s right to know.
Let the Senate act. Let Ombudsman Remulla proceed.
Let the dismissal stand unless lawfully contested.
Let justice live — not in secret, but in the sun.
Because justice concealed is justice stolen.
And this time, the Filipino people must refuse to be robbed again. #LaVeritePH
#JusticeInTheOpen #NoOneAboveTheLaw
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