Just a few months after being elected as one of the most promising young senators of the Philippine Republic, Senator Joel Villanueva will be facing a new hurdle in his political career. He might be facing legal charges due to an unsolved past legal case that was filed against him prior to running for a national public seat during the May 2016 elections. For sure, Joel will be expected to prepare his legal team of experts in preparation in his new and pending case against the office of the ombudsman in Manila.
The Office of the Ombudsman recently filed an order for the dismissal of Senator Joel Villanueva that is effective immediately. This was about the allegations of malversation of funds in relation to his pork barrel related issue when he was still a former representative of CIBAC party-list of the Philippines. CIBAC stands for Citizen's Battle Against Corruption, which is a political organization in the Philippines that seeks to prevent graft, corruption, and cronyism in the Philippines. CIBAC will also be under investigation and probably requested for disqualification after its former representative Joel Villanueva has been found liable for the misuse of funds.
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| Philippine Senator Joel Villanueva |
Joel Villanueva has a bright academic background. During his college years, Joel took up Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree major in Economics. He then went to Harvard University to pursue his post-graduate studies in Business Administration between 1996 to 1998. After completing his degree abroad, he returned to the Philippines to apply what he learned from the United States. Joey Villanueva started his political career when he ran as a representative for CIBAC Partylist in 2001. He became the youngest member of the House of Representative when he took oath at the age of 27.
It was during his term as a CIBAC Partylist representative that it gained the attention of the office of the Ombudsman wherein there was a legal case filed against him for several ethical and legal issues. After serving as a CIBAC Partylist representative, Joel Villanueva he was then appointed as TESDA Chief in 2010 under the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III. In 2015, Joel officially filed for a candidacy for Senator for the May 2016 elections on October 15, 2016, where he gained at least 18,095,333 votes.
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5 Interesting Facts why the Ombudsman filed for the dismissal of Joel Villanueva
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2. Association with Arthur Yap: During the Arroyo Administration, Arthur Yap was a former Agriculture Secretary. With just two days after he cashed out 10 million, there was another 10 million that was released to fuel the projects under the NABCOR (National Agri-Business Corporation). The issue was confirmed by the investigators for the Office of the Ombudsman after conducting an investigation regarding the issue. This will be the second count of fund malversation case that was filed against Joel Villanueva even before he ran for Senator during the May 2016 polls.
3. List of beneficiaries was nowhere to found in Compostela Valley: The recipients in the Compostela Valley has nowhere to be found as based on the list that was presented by the office of Joel Villanueva when he was a CIBAC party-list representative. The investigators for the office of the Ombudsman attempted to make a contact, but there were no such names that were indicated from the list, which means that there is a falsification of documents that will be adding to the existing legal case of the newly elected Senator.
4. Wrong type of crops: Under the NABCOR project of Senator Joey Villanueva when he was a CIBAC party-list representative, there was an issue with the declared crops that were supposed to be planted in the area not unsuitable with the terrain in region IX. Investigators of the Office of the Ombudsman indicated that the recipients of NABCOR's new project were supposed to benefit the farmers who will be given several varieties of crops. This is to boost their livelihood programs that can help them export their local products such as okra, root crops, corn, andChinesee cabbage. However, bananas and coconuts are the main sources of vegetation that are the most reliable agri-business commodities in the region.
5. He is liable for violating the Republic Act 3019: Joey Villanueva is also tagged by the Office of the Ombudsman to be guilty of violating the Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act. This is because, during his term as a party-list representative, there were numerous ghost projects that were already surfaced with regards to his handling of the agri-business issue. This includes falsification of documents: In relation to number three and four, Joel Villanueva is also guilty of falsifying documents. There were several ghost projects that were discovered to be non-existent.
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