THIS is one issue that will end up in the Supreme Court.
The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Sen. Joel Villanueva, for alleged involvement in a pork barrel scam when he was a member of Congress representing the party-list Citizens Battle against Corruption (CIBAC).
He was found liable for misuse of R10 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2008 and was found guilty of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the public service.
The Ombudsman gave Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 30 days to submit a compliance report on the dismissal order. Pimentel instead referred the matter to the Senate Committee on Rules headed by Sen. Vicente Sotto III.
The key issue here is whether the Ombudsman has the authority to dismiss an elected member of the Senate. The case against Villanueva was filed in 2010 when he was director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The Ombudsman maintains that its order of perpetual disqualification from public office affects his term in the Senate to which he was later elected in 2016.
Against this claim of Ombudsman authority is the constitutional provision that each chamber of Congress may “punish its members for disorderly behavior and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its members, suspend or expel a member….” Section 16(3), Article VI, Legislative Department, Philippine Constitution.
Former Senate President Franklin Drilon said the Villanueva case is unprecedented and should be brought up before the Court of Appeals on to the Supreme Court “so they could decide on what is really right.”
Quite apart from this constitutional issue is Villanueva’s claim of innocence. He said his alleged signature in the documents on the disbursement of his PDAF funds were forged. It might also be noted that several other legislators have been charged with plunder for misuse of PDAF funds involving R50 million and above, but all cases are to be tried and decided by the Sandiganbayan.
It is the authority of the Ombudsman to order a senator’s dismissal that is the core of the Villanueva case and Senate President Pimentel has referred the matter to the Sotto Committee on Rules. The committee is due to meet this week. In the meantime, Senator Villanueva has filed a motion for reconsideration with the Office of the Ombudsman.
The Office of the Ombudsman and the Senate may both be expected to stand by their respective positions on the issue of authority. Ultimately the matter will reach the Supreme Court as this is a constitutional issue. It should be resolved as early as possible lest it hamper the operations of our government, the Senate and the Ombudsman in particular.
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