Marcoleta Pleads Not Guilty to Plunder, Gifts Charges

Senator Rodante Marcoleta pleaded not guilty to charges of plunder and violation of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 46, which prohibits government officials from receiving gifts, during his arraignment before the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division on Wednesday. Marcoleta was initially set to be arraigned only on the charge of violating PD No. 46. However, his counsel, Rodolfo Sabulao, asked the court if the senator could also be arraigned for the plunder charge to expedite the proceedings. Sabulao also informed the court that they were withdrawing their previous motion to quash the case against his client, paving the way for his arraignment. The charges against the senator stem from the P75 million in campaign donations he allegedly received for his 2025 senatorial bid. At the time, Marcoleta was a member of the House of Representatives. The donors, Quezon City Rep. Ron M. Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray, also face similar charges in different divisions of the antigraft court. Prosecutors claim Marcoleta failed to disclose the campaign donations to the Commission on Elections and in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth. Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray had pleaded not guilty to the plunder charge during their arraignment last week. Along with Marcoleta, they are currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, Quezon City, as plunder is a non-bailable offense. Marcoleta faces three counts of violating PD No. 46, pending in the antigraft court’s Third, Fourth, and First Divisions. Viray is Marcoleta’s co-accused in the case pending before the First Division, Espiritu in the Third Division, and Defensor in the Fourth Division. Marcoleta and Defensor also underwent arraignment on Wednesday before the Fourth Division, with both pleading not guilty to violating the presidential decree.