Former Ombudsman Samuel Martires denied that there was a ‘secret decision’ made regarding the reversal of Senator Joel Villanueva’s dismissal order in 2016.

Contrary to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla’s announcement on Thursday evening, Martires maintained that he is unaware of where the former got the information from. According to Martires, Villanueva filed for a motion for reconsideration in 2016, stating it was around that time that he was appointed as Ombudsman. In July 2019, Martires decided on the motion filed.

“So, hindi ko alam sinasabi ni Ombudsman Remulla na secret decision. Wala naman ho kaming secret decision,” he said, adding that his scope of work only spans from reviewing the pending and administrative cases within the agency.

Martires explained the reason why he decided to dismiss the case, stating that the P10 million worth of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) case was filed by the Buhay Party-list, a party-list group founded by El Shaddai founder Mike Velarde.

According to Martires, the party-list group claimed at the time that Villanueva signed a document regarding the said issue.

“Kaya lang ang nakakagulat dito, ‘yung sinasabing may secret decision. Kasi kung sino mang tao makakapagsabi na may ginawa akong anomalya sa opisina ng Ombudsman, lumantad at sasagutin ko,” he expressed.

“Ni isang centimo wala akong tinanggap. Hindi ako na-mulitika noong ako’y nasa Ombudsman,” he added.

On Thursday, Remulla said he was surprised by the ‘secret decision’ that came out about Villanueva’s case.

“Ombudsman Martires never spoke about it. Diba parang secret decision siya? Alam mo ba ‘yun? No one knows about it,” he told the media.