Plunder charges filed vs Marcoleta, Defensor over P75M campaign donations

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed plunder and bribery charges against Senator Rodante Marcoleta, former congressman Mike Defensor, and two others before the Sandiganbayan, a government anti-graft court. The charges stem from P75 million in campaign donations received by Marcoleta. Defensor questioned the plunder case, stating in a Facebook post that "CAMPAIGN DONATIONS" were the basis, but "NO GOVERNMENT FUND was involved. NOTHING WAS STOLEN from the public treasury. NO FAVOR was requested, promised, or given in exchange for any donation." He expressed confusion as to how campaign donations could form the basis of a plunder case. The Ombudsman, in a separate statement, emphasized that the filing was not a decision "made lightly or by choice." It noted that the facts of the cash donations made by Defensor and others, and Marcoleta's non-disclosure of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Network (SALN) and campaign finance reports, are not in dispute. The core issue, the Ombudsman stated, is a question of law: whether these undisputed facts constitute plunder and bribery. Marcoleta had previously admitted in a television program in November 2025 that he did not declare campaign contributions at the request of his contributors for anonymity. In January 2025, Defensor, Aristotle Viray, and Joseph Espiritu allegedly donated P30 million, P25 million, and P20 million, respectively, for Marcoleta's senatorial campaign. Citing his counter-affidavit, Marcoleta argued that the P75 million donations were not public funds. He further stated that the amounts were not reflected in his SALN as of June 30, 2025, because they had already been used for their intended election-related purposes and were no longer his assets by the time the SALNs were prepared. The Ombudsman also commented on Marcoleta's admission of "utang na loob" (debt of gratitude), stating it "has no place in public office." The office added, "The moment gratitude is used to explain away P75 million in undisclosed money, it stops being 'utang na loob' and becomes exactly what our plunder and bribery laws were written to prevent." Defensor vowed to face the cases in court and stated that this would not deter him from exposing anomalies in flood control projects. He also criticized what he described as "selective justice," pointing to donations made to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s presidential bid in the 2022 elections by officials such as Anton Lagdameo Jr., Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., and Melquiades Robles. "If campaign donations are now being used as the basis for a PLUNDER case, then these circumstances deserve AT LEAST THE SAME LEVEL OF SCRUTINY AND INVESTIGATION. The law cannot have ONE STANDARD for political opponents and ANOTHER for political allies," Defensor asserted. Source: Inquirer NewsInfo