The Marcos administration distanced itself Sunday from the plunder complaint filed against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and several of his campaign donors, insisting the charges grew out of the senator’s own financial disclosures rather than any political agenda.
Palace press officer Claire Castro, speaking on dzMM radio, pointed to the Office of the Ombudsman as the source of the action — an independent constitutional body that operates outside executive oversight.
“The recommendation came from the Ombudsman itself. The Ombudsman is not part of the administration,” Castro said.
Castro identified two key documents at the center of the inquiry: Marcoleta’s statement of contributions and expenditures, and his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth. Investigators noted apparent gaps between the senator’s declared financial position and the scale of his spending during the 2025 elections.
The Palace spokesperson also flagged Marcoleta’s own public statements, in which he acknowledged that some campaign donors had opted to keep their identities undisclosed — an admission Castro suggested the senator had made himself.
Castro maintained that the administration had no involvement in initiating or directing the investigation, and that the case rested on evidence the senator himself had placed on record.
