Jesus Crispin "Boying" Catibayan Remulla (born March 31, 1961) is a Filipino lawyer, politician, and broadcaster currently serving as
Secretary of Justice since 2022. He previously served as the
representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
of
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
's
7th district from 2019 to 2022, the position he previously held from 2010 to 2013, and currently the House Senior Deputy Majority Leader. He also served as the
provincial governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Cavite from 2016 to 2019, and was the representative of the province's
3rd district from 2004 to 2010. He is also a radio host for "Executive Session" on
DZRH
DZRH (666 AM) is a radio station owned and operated by Manila Broadcasting Company, which serves as the flagship station. The station's studio is located at the MBC Building, Star City, Vicente Sotto St., CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pas ...
. Remulla is one of the vocal opponents against ABS-CBN and is among the
70 congressmen who voted to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.
Remulla took up political science as well as graduated from the
University of the Philippines College of Law
The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...
in 1987, where he was a fellow of the
Upsilon Sigma Phi
The Upsilon Sigma Phi () is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters — a single ch ...
fraternity. He passed the
bar exam
A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction.
Australia
Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...
in 1988. He is member of the Remulla political dynasty of Cavite: His father,
Juanito
Juanito is a given name or nickname, meaning "Little Juan" or Johnny. Notable people with the name include:
Professional footballers
* Juan Ignacio Gomez Taleb (born 1985), Argentinian forward
* Juan Díaz Sánchez (1948–2013), Spanish forwa ...
, was the provincial governor for fourteen years. His brother
Gilbert, a former television reporter for
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...
, was the representative of the
2nd district from 2001 to 2007. His other brother,
Jonvic, is the current provincial governor.
Political career
In 2001, he became the chief of staff of then
Senator and former
First Lady Luisa Pimentel-Estrada, wife of former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...
and spokesperson of
Puwersa ng Masa
The Puwersa ng Masa Coalition (Force of the Masses) was the Philippine opposition's political multi-party electoral alliance in the May 14, 2001 midterm Legislative elections. The coalition was created after the EDSA Revolution of 2001 that o ...
before running for
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
in a controversial
2004 election. During the campaign, he was upset by Governor
Erineo "Ayong" Maliksi, who was a fellow member of
Partido Magdalo, because of his support to then mayor of
Silang, Cavite
Silang, officially the Municipality of Silang ( tgl, Bayan ng Silang), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 295,644 people.
Silang is located in the eastern ...
Ruben Madlansacay, who ran as
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
for congressman. He won as congressman in the district more than two years after the death of his predecessor, Napoleon Beratio.
In 2007, he won for the second term as congressman against then Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Manny De Castro, also from Silang.
In 2009, he among with fellow representatives of Cavite –
Joseph Emilio Abaya
Joseph Emilio "Jun" Aguinaldo Abaya (born May 28, 1966) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, and military officer. He was the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) of the Philippines under the administration of P ...
and
Elpidio Barzaga, Jr. – authored the biggest congressional reapportionment in the history of the Philippines by passing Republic Act No. 9727, unofficially titled The Cavite Congressional Reapportionment Act of 2009, bringing the representatives of Cavite from three to seven.
In 2010, he defeated
Tagaytay
Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay ( fil, Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people.
It is one of the country's most po ...
Councilor Laureano Mendoza to claim his third consecutive term and first under the new
7th district of Cavite. On July 26, 2010, he became one of six Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives under the speakership of
Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte, Jr.
In 2013 elections, he ran for Mayor of
Tagaytay
Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay ( fil, Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people.
It is one of the country's most po ...
under the
Nacionalista Party but lost to Agnes Tolentino of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. In
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, instead of running for Congress against
Abraham Tolentino
Abraham "Bambol" Ng Tolentino (born February 23, 1964) is a Filipino politician who currently serves as the Mayor of Tagaytay and President of the Philippine Olympic Committee. He previously served as representative of Cavite's 8th district f ...
, Remulla substituted his younger brother
Jonvic to run as governor, which he successfully won. He served as governor of Cavite until 2019, when he successfully ran for congressman of the redistricted 7th district.
In 2020, Remulla played a major role in the
ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy along with
Rodante Marcoleta and
Mike Defensor
Michael Tan Defensor (, born June 30, 1969) is a Filipino politician who most recently served as the Party-list Representative for Anakalusugan from 2019 to 2022. He is also the CEO of Pax Libera Mining, Inc.
Defensor began his political ca ...
. They accused ABS-CBN for tax avoidances (by using
Shell corporations such as
Big Dipper
The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...
), selling Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) for foreigners (which is a possible violation of 1987 Constitution, prohibiting aliens for owning a mass media in the Philippines), using
Channel 43 to continue digital broadcasts after the shutdown on May 5, using ABS-CBN facilities, and submitting an alleged tampered
torrens title
Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdings, which serves as the conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of title of the person recorded on the regist ...
. He enlisted the help of the
National Bureau of Investigation to go after his critics on social media, accusing them of cyberbullying for criticizing him when he disrespected the
Philippine national anthem
"" ("Chosen Land"), originally titled in Spanish as "" ("Philippine National March"), and commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ("Beloved Country"), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julián ...
. On July 10, 2020, Remulla, an ex-officio member of the
Legislative Franchises, is one of the 70 representatives who voted "yes" to "kill" (deny) the twenty-five year franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, in favor of a report from Technical Working Group. After claiming continuous victory, Remulla joined with Defensor and Marcoleta for an online conversation via
Zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Zoom (software), videoconferencing application
* Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display
* Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
and streamed on Facebook as they discuss their plans to takeover the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in the future. This forum attracted controversy and their plans to take over the network's compound were slammed by Senate President
Tito Sotto
Vicente Castelo Sotto III (; born August 24, 1948), professionally known as Tito Sotto, is a Filipino politician, entertainer and athlete who served as Senate President from 2018 to 2022. Before that, had two stints each as Senate Majority Le ...
and pro-ABS-CBN advocate
Christine Bersola-Babao
Christine Peji Bersola-Babao (; born October 30, 1970), known professionally as Tin Tin, is a Filipina multi-media personality. She is best known for starring in the educational television program ''Sine'skwela''.
Life and career
Christine B ...
. The former stated that the facilities of the network are constitutionally protected while the latter called the congressmen who initiated the forum as "evil".
Remulla was reelected to the Congress in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
, unopposed. However, on May 23, 2022, Remulla accepted the offer to become the
Secretary of Justice under the incoming
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
of president-elect
Bongbong Marcos, thus resigning his rights to the seat before his new term began in order to assume the position. His successor is yet to be determined through
an upcoming special election. He took oath as Justice Secretary on July 1, 2022, before Marcos.
On July 13, 2022, Remulla issued Department Circular No. 027, which creates the Prosecution Integrity Board to look into misconducts of government prosecutors and recommend sanctions against them if necessary, as his first order as Justice Secretary. He also issued a circular that would give himself additional powers over the National Prosecution Service (NPS), a unit under the
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
. On July 28, 2022, he also said that he doesn't think that "we need to spend the next 100 years running after the
Marcoses" while discussing the functions of the
Presidential Commission on Good Government
The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is a quasi-judicial government agency of the Philippines whose primary mandate is to recover the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by Ferdinand Marcos, his immediate family, relatives, subordin ...
(PCGG) that went after the
ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family. He added that there is no need to abolish the PCGG.
In November 2022, Remulla rejected the recommendations for the Philippines to adopt
SOGIE bill, laws legalizing
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, divorce and abortion, and many more citing it "not acceptable in the Philippines, being a pre-dominantly Catholic nation." He added that "they want the SOGIE Bill for same-sex marriage to have the same as in their countries. So, that's not acceptable for us. They really want a lot to be implemented here." The justice department defended Remulla's decision to immediately reject all the recommendations.
Controversies
Alleged payment and red-tagging of Robredo supporters
On a radio show on
DZRH
DZRH (666 AM) is a radio station owned and operated by Manila Broadcasting Company, which serves as the flagship station. The station's studio is located at the MBC Building, Star City, Vicente Sotto St., CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pas ...
, Remulla questioned the large turnout of individuals during a political rally of
presidential aspirant and Vice President
Leni Robredo
Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; born Maria Leonor Santo Tomas Gerona; April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.
She was the wife of the late Jesse ...
conducted in
General Trias City,
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
. He alleged that the supporters of the candidate were paid P500 each to join the rally and that some individuals were simply ferried to the venue from other areas of the city to artificially create a large crowd.
With uniformed volunteers and possibly local politicians simply leading or paying random passerby to join the rally. The grand rally in question is reported to have been the largest rally of the presidential candidate as of March 6, 2022, with at most 50,000 individuals joining the rally according to a local news report.
Remulla further stated that there were leftist student activists who joined the crowd. He alleged that these students were supposedly trained by the
National Democratic Front, a leftist organization with ties to the
Communist Party of the Philippines. He also alleged that Robredo had come to an agreement with the communists as well.
Remulla was also joined by presidential candidate and provincemate
Ping Lacson who, upon reading a
articleabout Remulla's allegations, tweeted a warning about the dangers of a coalition government with the communists.
Robredo has since denied these claims and decried the
red-tagging of Remulla's fellow "Caviteños" (term used to describe individuals from the province of Cavite),
describing such red-tagging and accusations of vote-buying as an insult to Remulla's provincemates.
Remulla is a supporter of presidential candidate
Bongbong Marcos. Together with the incumbent governor of
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
Jonvic Remulla
Juanito Victor "Jonvic" Catibayan Remulla Jr. (born October 23, 1967) is a Filipino politician serving as the governor of Cavite since 2019, previously holding the position from 2010 to 2016. He also previously served as the vice governor and a ...
, Jesus Crispin has actively campaigned for Marcos.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Remulla, Jesus Crispin C.
20th-century Filipino lawyers
People from Imus
University of the Philippines Diliman alumni
1961 births
Living people
Nacionalista Party politicians
National Unity Party (Philippines) politicians
United Nationalist Alliance politicians
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cavite
Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Governors of Cavite
Filipino radio personalities
Duterte administration personnel
Bongbong Marcos administration cabinet members