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Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla in a press briefing with reporters after taking his oath of office at the Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2025.
Philstar.com / Ian Laqui
MANILA, Philippines — Several posts in the past week falsely claimed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has died amid circulating unverified claims he was hospitalized.
The Facebook posts, published from January 3 to 5, shared that Remulla had passed away. One post by "Unwind Manila" posted three photos showing a black and white image of Remulla's portrait, a surgery procedure and a social media card about his leukemia diagnosis.
The caption read:
BREAKING: Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has passed away a message via phone saying his life on this very day is continued to be honored and remembered by his friends and family. Rest in privacy. no press con muna (for now).
The claim came a few days after rumors circulated that Remulla was rushed to the hospital, later debunked by Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
The Facebook post made by "Unwind Manila" on January 3 falsely claimed Ombudsman Boying Remulla has passed away.
Unwind Manila / Philstar.com's screenshot
Rating: This is false and fake.
Facts
When rumors of Remulla being rushed to the hospital spread on January 2 following his inactivity, Clavano said the Ombudsman had a “hearty sinigang for breakfast.”
“Fake news. He had a hearty Sinigang this morning for breakfast!” Clavano said in a message to Philstar.com on January 2.
It was also debunked by the Ombudsman’s brother, Jonvic Remulla, who said that the Ombudsman had lunch and played golf that day.
"He just finished playing golf and is now having dinner with his family. We will have breakfast tomorrow," Jonvic said on January 2.
A day later, social media posts began claiming the Ombudsman died. Philstar.com reached out to Remulla for a comment about the rumours, to which he replied, “Huh?”
After a few days of not having any radio or TV interviews, Remulla appeared to reporters in a press briefing on January 8. He said he asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the individuals who spread rumors that he was hospitalized, alleging they were part of an "orchestrated campaign."
“There's really an orchestrated campaign. I don't know for what purpose pero tingin ko (but I think), it's part of the propaganda machine of some political parties,” Remulla said.
He added that the claims circulating against him “breached the limit of cyberlibel.”
Remulla also said, "I’m okay, I work out every day. I sleep early, I wake up early."
Why we fact-checked this
After the first post on Facebook surfaced about the alleged death of Remulla, several posts also circulated on X (formerly Twitter). One of the posts in X, which mentioned his alleged hospitalization, garnered 2,800 likes and 159 reposts.
Unwind Manila's post also amassed over 13,000 reactions, 3,200 comments and 839 shares.
It could be recalled that Remulla, during his tenure as Justice secretary, underwent a heart bypass surgery in June 2023, which prompted him to take a wellness leave.
During that time, he revealed that doctors found blockages in his heart.
On Oct. 24, 2025, Remulla said that doctors discovered he had leukemia after his quintuple bypass surgery in 2023.
However, he successfully recovered from the cancer after receiving chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, for which his son served as the donor.
As Ombudsman, Remulla is one of the government officials leading the investigations into the anomalous flood control projects, the budget corruption scandal and the filing of charges against implicated officials.
