Prominent business groups are calling for the establishment of a public registry of decisions involving government officials to promote transparency following the secret reversal of a 2016 dismissal order involving Senator Joel Villanueva over alleged misuse of public funds.

“Transparency is not optional. The Constitution mandates full public disclosure of all transactions involving public interest,” the groups said in a joint statement.

“It further guarantees the people's right to information on matters of public concern, including access to decisions—as a safeguard for public accountability,” they also said.

The statement was signed by the Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, and the Justice Reform Initiative.

The four business groups urged the Marcos administration to create a technology-enabled public registry for decisions and resolutions as part of a broader modernization of the justice system.

The online registry must reveal all the pertinent information about rulings of cases involving public officers and personnel, they said.

The group’s call for transparency comes after the revelation by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla that the 2016 order ordering Villanueva’s dismissal from public service due to the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was secretly reversed.

Villanueva, who is also alleged to be involved in the flood control scandal, was earlier found liable for the alleged misuse of ₱9.7 million in PDAF, otherwise known as pork barrel.

Remulla said the decision reversing the order, which was not publicized when it was issued in 2019, was signed by then-Ombudsman Samuel Martires, who was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“This unpublicized reversal by former Ombudsman Martires of the 2016 order, if true, contravenes the constitutional mandate of transparency and the Ombudsman's own Rules of Procedure, which echo this constitutional duty to publicize matters when warranted,” the business groups said.

The groups stated that issuing the decision in secret deprives the public of access to vital information and denies the parties involved their lawful remedies, such as filing motions for reconsideration or seeking a reinvestigation.

They added that this also deprives the rightful beneficiaries of the PDAF of resources that were allegedly misappropriated.

“Such secrecy undermines confidence in the justice system and sends a dangerous signal that decisions affecting public accountability may be quietly undone, and the people can be kept in the dark,” the statement read.

To ensure accountability, the business groups are calling on Remulla to uphold the rule of law and proceed with the investigation and prosecution of all public officials found culpable.

Citing jurisprudence, the groups stated that the Office of the Ombudsman has the authority to revisit prior rulings where justice may have been compromised.

They said this would “ensure that the guilty do not go unpunished and the innocent are protected.”

“The role of the Ombudsman is crucial and pivotal. Democracy and public accountability can only work if there are consequences to violating the law,” the groups said.

“The Ombudsman, by standing by its sworn duty, can stop the impunity of corruption, be a champion of justice, and deliver on the promise of a government for the people,” they added.