Arrest warrants vs senators ‘possible’ next week – Ombudsman Remulla
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman is preparing cases that could lead to the issuance of arrest warrants against several senators as early as next week, Ombudsman Samuel “Boying” Remulla said.
In an interview with news show host Karen Davila aired Monday, December 8, Remulla confirmed that his office is building cases involving Sen. Chiz Escudero, Sen. Mark Villar, and former senators Nancy Binay and Grace Poe.
When pressed on whether warrants of arrest may be issued, Remulla replied: “Possible… maybe next week.”
“We're doing the case build-up now. We're doing preliminary work. Lahat ng kailangang gawin, ginagawa,” he said. (We're doing the case build-up now. We're doing preliminary work. Everything that needs to be done, we're doing.)
A case build-up is the evidence-gathering process conducted before prosecutors decide whether to initiate a preliminary investigation.
Remulla said that when the Ombudsman receives a complaint — such as those submitted by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) — it undergoes evaluation, followed by fact-finding. Only then will prosecutors file a case, if warranted.
He stressed that the office is not rushing.
“Kasi nga, ang sinasabi namin, haste makes waste. Baka mamaya file ka ng file ng kaso madismiss naman, para kang gumawa ng anti-virus mo diba? Hindi natin gustong gawin yan,” he said. (Because what we're saying is, haste makes waste. Maybe later we'll just file a dismissal case so you can get an antivirus, right? We don't want to do that.)
His office also does not want to "overburden the court with very weak cases," which waste everyone's time.
On December 3, the ICI formally referred Poe, Escudero, Villar, and Binay to the Ombudsman for expanded investigation and case build-up. The referral stemmed from testimony by former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who accused the lawmakers of allegedly receiving kickbacks from flood control projects.
The lawmakers all denied the accusations. Binay specifically argued a lack of involvement in flood control and denied having staff capable of the alleged schemes, while Villar deemed the claims against him "baseless." Poe also stated she has never participated in corruption.
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