Metro Manila, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman filed a non-bailable plunder charge against Senator Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan on Friday, July 3, in relation to ₱75 million in campaign donations he received while serving as a public official.
Also named in the charge sheet were three private individuals who donated cash to Marcoleta when he was the representative of the Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty (SAGIP) party-list. They are former Anakalusugan representative Mike Defensor, Joseph Espiritu, and Aristotle Viray.
The Ombudsman also filed a separate case against Marcoleta and the three individuals for allegedly violating Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts on any occasion and bars private individuals from giving them.
The Sandiganbayan earlier issued a precautionary hold departure order against the four, barring them from leaving the country.
In March, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) cleared Marcoleta of any election offense despite his failure to disclose the ₱75 million contributions in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE). The poll body upheld the senator’s defense that the funds were received before the official campaign period.
Marcoleta previously questioned the case against him, claiming it is politically motivated and meant to bar him from participating in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte next Monday, July 6.
Tens of thousands of protesters—mostly members of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the religious group to which Marcoleta belongs—staged a three-day rally this week to condemn the charges against the senator.
