Ombudsman Files Plunder Case vs. Sen. Marcoleta Over P75M Unreported Campaign Donations

The Ombudsman on Friday filed plunder and three other related charges before the Sandiganbayan against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta over the P75 million in campaign contributions that he allegedly received ahead of the senatorial elections in 2025 but kept from declaring them in his Statement of Campaign Expenditures. Also facing charges for plunder, indirect bribery, and violation of the presidential decree prohibiting public officials from receiving gifts are Marcoleta's alleged campaign donors, former congressman Michael Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Varias Espiritu and Aristotle Baluyut Viray. The anti-graft court in late May granted the Ombudsman's request to issue a precautionary hold departure order on all four for the then-pending preliminary investigation of the plunder complaint. Ombudsman prosecutors said that Marcoleta unjustly enriched himself by allegedly accepting an “unconscionable” P75 million gift from three individuals. BREAKING: Ombudsman has filed plunder charges against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta @gmanews @24orasgma pic.twitter.com/Goat3GZlrz According to the Ombudsman, Marcoleta received the P75 million on three separate occasions: Jan. 6, 2025 — P30 million Jan. 8, 2025 — P25 million Jan. 9, 2025 — P20 million "The amount of P75 million was amassed and acquired by respondent Marcoleta in three separate occasions through unjust enrichment that clearly form a series or pattern directed toward the common goal or scheme of unlawfully enriching himself at the expense of the public," the Ombudsman said. They said that while Marcoleta had stated in interviews that he received P75 million in campaign donations, the amount was not reflected in his 2025 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) or his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) for his 2025 Senate bid. "By accepting money from private individuals amounting to P75 million, he fell short of upholding the standard of responsibility and integrity," the Ombudsman prosecutors said. TIMELINE: The plunder case vs. Rodante Marcoleta over P75M campaign contributions Marcoleta was the representative of the Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty (SAGIP) party-list at the time of the donations. "Respondent Marcoleta unjustly enriched himself at the expense and prejudice of the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines when he accepted such excessive sum of money from respondents Defensor, Viray, and Espiritu,” the Ombudsman said. GMA News is trying to reach Marcoleta for comment, but he has called the accusations against him part of a plan to silence him. "They form part of a deeper and more nefarious design— to intimidate independent voices, to punish dissent, and to warn every senator that the price of asking hard questions could lead to personal damnation,” Marcoleta said. "If the intention of these cases is to silence me, let me say this at the beginning. It has failed. I will not be silenced,” he added. The plunder case was raffled off to the Sandiganbayan Third Division, while the first count of violation of Presidential Decree 46 prohibiting public officials from receiving, directly or indirectly, any gift, present or any other form of benefit in the course of official duties went to the Fourth Division. The second and third count of violation of Presidential Decree 46 was raffled off to the Sixth and First Division, respectively, of the Sandiganbayan. The Fifth and Seventh Divisions of the anti-graft court did not participate in the raffle because there are already multiple flood control-related cases pending before these divisions. –NB/ VAL, GMA News