Sen. Rodante Marcoleta believes the plunder complaint being readied against him is meant to punish him for digging into the flood control scandal and to keep him out of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
The Office of the Ombudsman has said the case rests on the senator’s failure to report P75 million in campaign contributions in both his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) and his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Marcoleta identified the sources of the money as former Anakalusugan Party-List Rep. Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray, explaining that the funds arrived before the campaign period for the 2025 elections began — the reason, he said, they went undeclared.
“My donors even paid the donors’ tax. And these are all legal. And these were all reported,” Marcoleta said.
“They are private funds and they have nothing to do with ill-gotten wealth.”
Speaking on state-owned Russia Today on Wednesday, July 1, the senator dismissed the accusation outright. “This is a fabricated charge. It is not even within the meaning and parameters of our plunder law. Our plunder law is about amassing ill-gotten wealth. It’s a serious crime. It is not about, you know, getting election financial support from friends,” he said.
“That is why I am quite sure that this particular charge, if they will pursue it, will be junked by the court in due time,” he added.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano offered a different reading of the law, saying plunder can be committed through several acts, including the receipt of a commission, gift, or kickback. He noted that public officials are barred from accepting large sums unless they are seeking public office — and that Marcoleta, in any case, never declared what he received.
At the EDSA protest mounted by the Iglesia ni Cristo, which started as a surprise action on Tuesday and stretched into a second day, Marcoleta told the crowd he was ready to face arrest.
“Nakahanda po akong magpakulong. Kung kinakailangang maaresto po ako wala pong problema. Kung ito po ang kabayarang hinihingi para ipagtanggol ko ang katarungan at ang pambansang kagalingan at ang interes ng mamayang Pilipino,” he said.
Sen. Imee Marcos joined the rally on Wednesday and urged the public to take part, expressing confidence in her colleague’s ability to answer the accusations. “Alam ko naman, kayang-kaya niyang ipagtanggol ang sarili sa mga kabuktutan, kabalbalan, kalokohan na pinataw sa kanya,” she said.
Republic Act No. 7080, the statute defining plunder, counts among “ill-gotten wealth” any assets acquired through “receiving, directly or indirectly, any commission, gift, share, percentage, kickbacks or any other form of pecuniary benefit from any person and/or entity in connection with any government contract or project or by reason of the office or position of the public officer concerned.”
