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Fabricated complaints: Majority Leader Joel Villanueva decries allegations that he has a pending case before the Office of the Ombudsman. In a privilege speech he delivered during the plenary session Monday, February 12, 2024, Villanueva said the “fabricated complaints” against him had been dismissed in 2016. “We were persecuted, accused, but the fight is over. “All the fabricated complaints against us have been dismissed,” Villanueva stressed. The Senate majority leader likewise denied he underestimated the vote of congressmen and the party list. A number of his mentors, Villanueva pointed out, were members of the House of Representatives and his father currently belongs to a party list group. The real issue behind the accusations, he said, is the motion to remove the Senate from the process of amending the Constitution. He said there are other more pressing matters than amending the Constitution. “What the people need is to buy medicine, what they need is to put food on the table, they need quality education and they need jobs and good income,” Villanueva said as he called for a stop on the campaign for People’s Initiative. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)