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Ombudsman's order vs Villanueva now up to Senate: expert

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/nation/11/14/duterte-trump/20160726-villanueva-drilon-nppa10.jpg"/></figure></div>MANILA - A law expert on Tuesday said the Senate Ethics Committee should take action on Ombudsman&#x27;s dismissal order against Senator Joel Villanueva.San Beda College of Law Dean Fr. Ranhilio Aquino told ANC&#x27;s Dateline Philippines, since the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction over members of the Congress and the judiciary, the Senate committee should treat the order as a complaint against the sitting senator.&quot;Since the judgment had to do with his acts prior to becoming a member of Congress, I believe the proper thing to do now is for Congress to take the judgment of the Ombudsman and deal with it in its ethics committee because the Senate has the power to expel its members,&quot; he said.After the senator&#x27;s expulsion, explained Aquino, &quot;all the penalties imposed upon him by the Ombudsman come into force.&quot;Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Monday ordered Villanueva&#x27;s dismissal after he and nine others were found liable for misuse of the lawmaker’s 2008 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gojr7fnzt2w" width="560"></iframe></figure><div>READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/14/16/ombudsman-orders-dismissal-of-joel-villanueva">Ombudsman orders dismissal of Joel Villanueva</a></div>Aquino disagreed with the argument that the Office of the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction over Villanueva as a sitting senator, noting that the anti-graft body had jurisdiction over him when he served as director-general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), when the cases were filed against him.He cited a precedent case decided by the Supreme Court in 2008 where a judge was found liable for acts that he committed prior to his appointment as judge, but the judgment of liability came out only after he had been appointed as judge.&quot;The question was can he be removed as judge? The answer of the Supreme Court was that the judgment finding him administratively liable should be taken as a complaint against him now that he is a judge,&quot; he said.He also noted that under the Doctrine of Condonation, Villanueva&#x27;s election as senator would act as &quot;condonation of any acts he may have committed prior to that,&quot; but because of the Supreme Court&#x27;s ruling on former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay that his will be the last, there was &quot;no more future application of the condonation doctrine.&quot;Aquino maintained, the Senate should treat the Ombudsman&#x27;s order as a complaint to the Ethics Committee after Villanueva&#x27;s motion for reconsideration is decided by the anti-graft body, as Senate President Aquilino Pimentel had asserted.However, he also emphasized that the Ombudsman&#x27;s finding of administrative liability is also &quot;a finding criminal acts were committed.&quot;&quot;If indeed a crime has been committed, which is what the finding of the Ombudsman indicates, then criminal prosecution should also proceed,&quot; he said.<div>REMINDER FOR SPEEDINESS</div>Aquino, meanwhile, also asserted that the issues hounding Villanueva&#x27;s unseating should also serve as a reminder to the Office of the Ombudsman and other investigating bodies to speed up the process.&quot;Sometimes, the problem is the investigation drags on too long and meanwhile an election intervenes, with the result that people who are charged get elected to public office,&quot; he said.&quot;I’m sure this problem would not have arisen had the case been resolved prior to his election as senator,&quot; he added.On the other hand, he also argued that the blame is not completely on the Ombudsman because Villanueva&#x27;s is a delicate case.&quot;When you deal with a case that involves the possible dismissal of a public official and his perpetual disqualification from public office, you cannot be rash in regard to those things either,&quot; he said.

A law expert on Tuesday said the Senate Ethics Committee should take action on Ombudsman's dismissal order against Senator Joel Villanueva.

A law expert on Tuesday said the Senate Ethics Committee should take action on Ombudsman's dismissal order against Senator Joel Villanueva.