The recent political realignment in the Senate has fueled online speculation that the Office of the Ombudsman’s (OMB) investigation into alleged flood-control irregularities involving Senators Joel Villanueva and Francis “Chiz” Escudero has been sidelined.

The speculation came after the two senators joined the Senate majority bloc led by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, with Escudero later elected as the presiding officer of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

But Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla begs to differ, saying the investigations remain on track and the cases being prepared against the two lawmakers will push through.

“Tuloy ‘yan. Ginagawa pa rin namin. When you have 500 possible cases to file, ang dating kasi ng mga ebidensya diyan, iba’t ibang lebel (That will continue. We’re still working on it. When you have 500 possible cases to file, the evidence comes in different levels),” he said on Friday, July 17, when asked about the status of the OMB case that was supposed to be filed against Escudero.

“Hindi naman reliable lahat kaya dapat suriin mo pa ng husto ‘yan. Pero tuloy-tuloy ‘yan (Not all of it is reliable, so you have to examine it very carefully. But that will continue),” he added.

On June 29, Remulla said the OMB may bring the complaint involving Escudero over alleged irregularities in flood-control projects before the Sandiganbayan within the next two to three weeks.

Until now, he said that the complaint against Escudero is still in the fact-finding stage. But it is worth noting that the Ombudsman himself said earlier that it was already at the preliminary investigation stage.

“Nasa fact-finding pa rin siya, pero malapit na rin. Makakarating tayo diyan (It is still in the fact-finding stage, but we’re getting close. We’ll get there),” he told reporters.

During a radio interview on May 21, Assistant Ombudsman Jose Dominic “Mico” Clavano IV said the OMB ordered Escudero to submit his counter-affidavit in response to allegations linking him to the flood-control controversy, confirming at the time that the complaint had already reached the preliminary investigation stage.

Asked about Villanueva, Remulla said it was the same situation, explaining that the evidence submitted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) was insufficient for the Office of the Ombudsman to file a case.

“Ganoon din. Same. Kasi ‘yung binigay ng DOJ was not enough for us. Hindi namin kayang i-file ‘yon (It’s the same. The evidence the DOJ gave us was not enough. We couldn’t file the case based on that),” he said.

However, the Ombudsman also said on June 29 that the complaint involving Villanueva is already in the preliminary investigation stage.

“’Yung nga, for PI [preliminary investigation] na (That one is already for preliminary investigation),” he said then when asked about Villanueva. 

It can be recalled that on May 26, Remulla himself said that the OMB could file a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan against Villanueva within two weeks over his alleged involvement in the flood-control controversy.

On June 19, progressive group Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK) questioned the delay in the filing of charges against Villanueva over his alleged involvement in the Bulacan flood-control controversy, despite the Ombudsman’s earlier pronouncement that the matter was already “hinog na (ripe)” for prosecution.

The group also noted that the delay coincided with recent political realignments in the Senate.