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Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla talks to the media after taking his oath as the new Ombudsman during a ceremony at the Supreme Court in Manila on Wednesday, October 9, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Adrian Ayalin

Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175998257332020251009-remulla-oathtaking-supreme court-MT-16.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla talks to the media after taking his oath as the new Ombudsman during a ceremony at the Supreme Court in Manila on Wednesday, October 9, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Newly installed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday said he was ready to take the flood control projects cases from his office to the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.</p><p>At a news conference after he took his oath as the new Ombudsman before Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the former justice secretary said he wanted &quot;continuous trial&quot; of cases in relation to the flood relief corruption.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/7/boying-remulla-is-new-ombudsman-1421">Boying Remulla is new Ombudsman</a></div><p>He said building solid evidence would ensure &quot;delaying tactics&quot; would not hamper the trials.</p><p>&quot;Ang timeline niyan siyempre on the evidence pa rin pero marami na rin kaming nakukuha na evidence, talagang sisikapin namin na mabuo nang husto kasi nga ayaw namin kami ang maging cause ng delay,&quot; Remulla said.</p><p>&quot;So ang timeline niyan, will depend on that, pero malamang iyan within the next few weeks kapag nag-file kami ready kami for trial, so PI (preliminary investigation) na lang iyan pero tuloy-tuloy iyan,&quot; he added.</p><p>Remulla said the cases to be filed would be based on evidence and not on personalities.</p><p>&quot;Hindi sino, pero anong kaso, anong ebidensiya kaya everybody comes in there, wala tayong sinisino, mataas o mababa, pero sisiguraduhin natin ang ebidensya nakatuon, kahit senador,&quot; he said.</p><p>Remulla&#x27;s appointment as the country&#x27;s new anti-graft buster comes amid public pressure to hold individuals accountable for the flood control corruption scandal where several politicians had been implicated.</p><p>Asked what would happen if evidence pointed to relatives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Remulla said, &quot;Wala naman tayong choice dito, iyon ang ebidensiya, pwede ba nating i-deny ang ebidensiya.&quot; </p><p>&quot;Iyan ang hamon sa atin dito, to produce the evidence,&quot; Remulla said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PHARMALLY</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, when asked about his plans to revisit the Pharmally corruption controversy, Remulla said the Office of the Ombudsman would take a second look at the cases filed by his predecessor.</p><p>Asked if the cases could extend to officials higher than former Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Remulla again said that he would decide based on the evidence that they would discover. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/10/ombudsman-duque-lao-liable-for-pharmally-deal-1940">Ombudsman: Duque, Lao liable for Pharmally mess</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>SALN</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The Palace on Tuesday announced the appointment of Remulla as the new Ombudsman, replacing Samuel Martires who retired in July.</p><p>Before his appointment, Remulla said that he would issue an order reversing Martires&#x27; memorandum circular that restricted the release of Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).</p><p>Martires&#x27; memorandum indicated that the issuance of SALNs was only for official investigations, by court order, or upon authority from officials themselves.</p><p>At the press conference, Remulla said they were still discussing the rules of releasing the SALNs, noting that they would redact parts of the document to comply with data privacy laws.</p><p>He said they would also ask for assurance from &quot;requesting parties&quot; that the document would not be used for &quot;ways that would not benefit the country.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Kasi baka maging political noise lang &#x27;yan at maging poison baka pag-isipan ulit natin &#x27;yan,&quot; he said.</p><p>Scrutiny of SALNs may lead to the discovery of ill-gotten or unexplained wealth, which could help the ongoing government investigations into the flood control controversy.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h1B8pRnm8f4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday took his oath as the new Ombudsman. </p>

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday took his oath as the new Ombudsman.

Ombudsman Remulla vows to take flood control projects cases to Sandiganbayan

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Ombudsman Remulla vows to take flood control projects cases to Sandiganbayan

Adrian Ayalin,

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 09, 2025 11:23 AM PHT

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Updated Oct 09, 2025 12:56 PM PHT

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Jesus Crispin Remulla

Boying Remulla

Ombudsman

Marvic Leonen

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