Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the strength of the plunder case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta lies in the senator’s own admissions, pushing back on claims that the prosecution is a political attack.
“And when you read the case and you listen to the admission, you listen to the interviews, you will see that the case is quite clearcut. Kaya it’s hard to see kung saan po nanggagaling si Sen. Marcoleta dito dahil…yung ebidensya mismo na ginamit ng ating mga imbestigador ay nanggaling din po sa kanya,” Clavano said in a press conference.
The Office of the Ombudsman announced Monday it would pursue plunder charges against Marcoleta and former lawmaker Michael Defensor over undisclosed campaign contributions worth P75 million. Marcoleta had earlier acknowledged, in a televised interview, that he withheld disclosure of donations from Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray during the 2025 midterm race, saying the donors had requested anonymity.
To justify the non-disclosure, the senator has invoked the Peñera doctrine, arguing the contributions were “personal funds” because they were given a month before the official campaign period began — a window during which, under that doctrine, a person is not yet legally considered a candidate.
Clavano rejected the idea that Marcoleta is being singled out, pointing to a parallel case against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez that he described as strengthening. He said Ombudsman investigators are looking at former Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan as a potential state witness in that matter.
“Yung budget ng DPWH, yung budget ni Secretary Manny Bonoan, yun po ang kinalikot na budget ng House leadership at that time,” Clavano said, adding that corruption cases typically require an insider account to build. “So ang corruption po kasi hindi mo ‘yan pwedeng i-penetrate galing sa labas. Kailangan mayroon ka talagang insider sa loob.”
Clavano also addressed the wave of Iglesia Ni Cristo members who marched along EDSA on Monday in support of Marcoleta, a demonstration large enough to disrupt traffic. He characterized the protesters’ demands as aligned with, rather than opposed to, the Ombudsman’s own mission, noting that the office’s recent press briefing had also covered unrelated cases against contractors under long-running investigation.
“Kung accountability po at transparency ang kanilang ipinaglalaban, ‘yun din po ang aming ipinaglalaban dito sa Office of the Ombudsman, na lahat ng nagkakamali ay manangot sa batas. We understand the plight, we understand what they are fighting for. But we, ourselves, are fighting for the same thing,” Clavano said.
Romualdez, for his part, has denied orchestrating the budget insertions tied to the flood control anomalies at the center of the case against him.
