Former Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla has been appointed as the new Ombudsman, who will serve for a term of seven years.
Remulla was selected over six other candidates and succeeds former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, whose term ended on July 27.
He previously served as the Justice Secretary under the Marcos administration since 2022 and was among the first Cabinet members to be announced.
During his tenure as Justice Secretary, Remulla pushed for prison reform and expanded the role of prosecutors in case build-ups.
Before that, he served as the representative of Cavite’s Seventh District and as Senior Deputy Majority Leader from 2019 to 2022. He was also the provincial governor of Cavite from 2016 to 2019.
Earlier in his political career, Remulla represented Cavite’s Seventh District from 2010 to 2013 and the Third District from 2004 to 2010.
He also served as Chief of Staff to Senator Luisa Ejercito Estrada from 2002 to 2003, and prior to that, as Assistant Secretary at the Office of the President from 1998 to 2001.
Remulla earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines. He ranked 17th in the 1987 Bar Examinations and placed 20th in the Career Executive Service Board (CESB) Examination.
He has previously stated that the Office of the Ombudsman should not be used as a weapon.
“Too many cases filed, in-partisan politics, which some [are] meritorious, and some are not very meritorious. And I think we have to do away with many of these that are really meant there to harass people,” he said before.
The Office of the Ombudsman
The Office of the Ombudsman has the authority to investigate, suspend, and dismiss government officials found guilty of misconduct.
As a constitutional body, it is tasked with investigating and prosecuting public officials accused of crimes, particularly those related to graft and corruption.
The Ombudsman handles complaints against high-ranking officials and those in supervisory roles, especially cases involving grave offenses or substantial sums of money and/or properties.
Currently, the Ombudsman is one of the agencies investigating the alleged anomalies in flood control projects, through a special panel of prosecutors.
