Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla has ruled himself out of the race to lead the Supreme Court, even as his name kept circulating among those tipped to replace Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
Remulla: “I am not applying”
Remulla said Thursday he is not vying to become Chief Justice, dismissing talk that he was among those aspiring to the seat as Gesmundo’s term winds down. “I am not applying,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Senate finance committee deliberations on the Ombudsman’s proposed budget for 2027.
He was clear about why. “I have no more aspirations. This is the job I want for myself, to be able to finish this job,” Remulla said of his current office, which he took up in October 2025 and is set to hold until 2032.
A Supreme Court succession
Gesmundo is set to retire in November, opening the highest judicial seat in the land and triggering a selection process run through the Judicial and Bar Council. Remulla’s announcement takes one prominent name out of that shortlist talk, even as the office he now leads braces for scrutiny over a P7.2-billion 2027 budget.
The high court has been reshaping how elections and governance disputes are settled in recent rulings, and whoever takes over will steer that work; Remulla is signaling that will not be him.
Where Remulla is focused instead
At the same budget hearing, the Ombudsman raised concerns over delays in the justice system, pointing to Court of Appeals decisions that reverse cases his office had already dismissed. He said the pattern is “a trend that’s known to the whole Office of the Ombudsman” and that he had discussed it with Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.
Remulla linked his remarks to his own record in public service, telling reporters they were prompted by his experience as a lawyer and government official and were “something that I have to do for the country,” a nudge toward what he described as the judiciary doing some soul-searching on how it treats dismissed cases.
| Chief justice succession at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Current Chief Justice | Alexander Gesmundo |
| Planned retirement | November 2026 |
| Succession body | Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) |
| Remulla’s position | Ruled out, staying as Ombudsman until 2032 |
| Ombudsman term began | October 2025 |
It is a markedly different fight from the one Remulla waged in his previous post. As justice secretary, he pushed to review the “Robin Padilla law” on loose firearms after a deadly school shooting, a review that astig.ph tracked as it unfolded.
