Senator Rodante Marcoleta pressed anew Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla regarding statements suggesting that it was acceptable to “bend the law” so long as it was not broken.

During the Senate’s plenary deliberations on the proposed 2026 budget of the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday, Nov. 21, Marcoleta argued that such remarks were inconsistent with Supreme Court (SC) jurisprudence and posed a risk of misleading the public on how the law should be applied.

Citing several Supreme Court decisions that admonished the Ombudsman’s office for grave abuse of discretion and for “bending or twisting the law,” Marcoleta asked whether the incumbent Ombudsman believed these rulings were wrong or not binding.

“We all know that the present Ombudsman publicly flouted his predilection to bend the law. Does he believe that these decisions of the Supreme Court are wrong and he is not bound by these decisions?” he asked.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who was sponsoring the Ombudsman’s budget, replied that the Ombudsman had “intimated” to him that he would abide by Supreme Court decisions and recognized the rule of law as supreme.

Marcoleta countered that such assurances contradicted the Ombudsman’s public statements.

“You say that you abide by the law strictly, but you say publicly that you can bend the law. How is that?” he asked, adding that the public deserved a clear clarification or even a public apology.

Gatchalian responded that the Ombudsman’s earlier remark was “a figure of speech.” Marcoleta rejected this, stressing that high public officials should not speak in figures of speech when discussing legal principles.

“Our people might be misled into believing that it’s alright to bend the law, provided we do not eventually break it,” he said.

Seeking direct clarification, Marcoleta moved to suspend the rules so the Ombudsman could address the issue personally.

Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III asked what would follow the motion, and Senator Risa Hontiveros stated that the chamber “very, very rarely” grants such motions during budget deliberations.

“We are not entertaining the motion,” she said, emphasizing that the committee chair could continue addressing the issue.

Gatchalian thanked Marcoleta for raising the concern, calling it an opportunity for the Ombudsman to clarify his statements through the Senate sponsor. He stressed that the Ombudsman had “no intention to bend the law,” and that his principle was “to follow the law and uphold the law” because “the rule of law is supreme.”

He said the controversial remark was indeed a figure of speech and that the Ombudsman intended to implement the law with integrity and justice.

Gatchalian said that the principle that the law must be enforced without exceptions, saying this was also the Ombudsman’s assurance to the Senate and to the public.