The Office of the Ombudsman will continue reviewing the dismissal of the graft case against Senator Joel Villanueva, according to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla.

Remulla revealed that he only recently came across the supposed reversal of Villanueva’s case, which dates back to 2008 when the then-Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered Villanueva’s dismissal from government service over a graft complaint. The case, however, was dismissed in 2019.

“And when I was there two weeks ago, my first day in the office, I saw some cases dismissed but not this case. Ngayon ko lang nakita ito, hindi naman nilabas sa akin kagad yan,” Remulla said.

“Dapat mabilis na access yan. Hindi kaagad na access.Nakita namin kahapon na lang. May nagdala sa akin ng record pagpasok ko sa opisina,” he added

He stressed that the issue at hand is transparency, noting that the controversy stemmed from the public and even lawmakers being unaware that the case had already been dismissed years ago, declaring that it was a “secret decision”.

Senator Villanueva earlier released documents showing that his case was dismissed on July 31, 2019, and that he has since secured clearances from both the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan as of September 10, 2025, certifying that he has no pending cases with either agency.