NANAWAGAN si Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, chairman ng House committee on public accounts, kay Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla na imbestigahan ang eksaktong timeline sa likod ng pagbawi ni retired Ombudsman Samuel Martires noong Hulyo 31, 2019 sa dismissal order laban kay Senador Joel Villanueva.

Aniya, ang susi ay kung kailan talaga naghain ng reconsideration ang mambabatas.

“We urge Ombudsman Remulla to look deeper into these timelines, in order to finally settle the questions surrounding Senator Villanueva’s Ombudsman case,” ani Ridon, isang abogado mula sa University of the Philippines (UP) at nagtapos ng General Management Program sa Harvard Business School.

“With Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla calling the reversal of the dismissal of Senator Joel Villanueva’s grave misconduct case a ‘secret and surprise decision,’ the most important question at this point is this — when did Senator Joel Villanueva actually file his Motion for Reconsideration?” wika ni Ridon.

Bilang overall chairman ng House Infrastructure Committee, binanggit ni Ridon ang mga rekord at ulat na kasabay ng mga pangyayari upang bigyang-diin ang isyu.

“According to 2016 news reports, Senator Villanueva said that he had already filed his motion for reconsideration in November 2016, and that he was leaving the enforcement request to the discretion of the then Senate President,” sinabi ni Ridon.

“The December 5, 2016 Senate Journal also stated that Senator Villanueva had filed his MR within the ten-day period prescribed under Ombudsman rules,” dagdag pa niya.

Binanggit din ni Ridon ang ulat noong Disyembre 14, 2016 kung saan kinilala ni dating Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ang pag-iral ng MR.

“They said they are waiting for the resolution of the motion for reconsideration. So, we’ll cross the bridge when we get to it,” ani Morales, na tumutukoy sa Senado.

“However, the supposed Motion for Reconsideration was never resolved by Ombudsman Morales within the prescribed period of five days from its submission,” ani Ridon. “If the MR had indeed been filed in November 2016, it should have already been resolved by December 2016.”

“Furthermore, even if one assumes it was duly filed, Ombudsman Morales still had one year and eight months — until her retirement on July 26, 2018 — to act upon it,” sinabi pa ni Ridon.

“Had Ombudsman Morales resolved the MR within that substantially extended period, Ombudsman Samuel Martires would not have been given the opportunity to act on it much later, on July 31, 2019,” aniya.

“On the other hand, if the MR was filed out of time, then Ombudsman Martires had absolutely no discretion to entertain or resolve it in 2019, as the dismissal would have already been final and executory as early as 2016,” punto ni Ridon.