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Sen. Rodante Marcoleta moves to place Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa under Senate protective custody during the plenary session on Monday, May 11, 2026. Wendell Alinea,  Senate Social Media Unit/File

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta moves to place Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa under Senate protective custody during the plenary session on Monday, May 11, 2026. Wendell Alinea,  Senate Social Media Unit

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PH SENATE

Kaxandra Salonga

Jamaine Punzalan

Daniza Fernandez

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178271968114120260512-senate-coup-marcoleta-SSMU2 (2).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sen. Rodante Marcoleta moves to place Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa under Senate protective custody during the plenary session on Monday, May 11, 2026. <em>Wendell Alinea, Senate Social Media Unit/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday filed a non-bailable plunder case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan over his alleged non-disclosure of campaign contributions. </p><p>Ombudsman representatives filed the charges against Marcoleta, former lawmaker Mike Defensor, and businessmen Aristotle Viray and Joseph Espiritu at around 10:20 a.m. </p><p>The case stems from allegations that Marcoleta, then a sitting congressman, accepted P75 million in campaign donations from Defensor and businessmen and failed to declare the funds in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).</p><p>The case was raffled off to the Sandiganbayan Third Division, chaired by Associate Justice Karl Miranda.</p><p>The court’s Fourth Division, led by Associate Justice Michael Musngi, will handle Marcoleta and Defensor’s additional raps involving violation of Presidential Decree No. 46, which punishes public officials from receiving gifts, and private persons from giving gifts.</p><p>The same case filed against Espiritu was raffled off to the Sixth Division, chaired by Associate Justice Sarah Fernandez. Viray also faces the same raps, handled by the First Division, led by Associate Justice Maria Mendoza-Arcega.</p><p>The filing comes days after the Iglesia Ni Cristo mounted a <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/2/inc-ends-3-day-protest-in-support-of-marcoleta-2237">mammoth rally</a> on EDSA to question the charges against Marcoleta. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/30/traffic-snarls-hit-edsa-as-thousands-of-inc-members-gather-for-rally-1003">Traffic snarls hit EDSA as thousands of INC members gather for &#x27;emergency rally&#x27; </a></div><p>Under the Anti-Plunder Act, public officials may be held liable if they amass at least P50 million in ill-gotten wealth. Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano earlier said the alleged receipt of private funds could still constitute plunder if accepted by a public official under circumstances prohibited by law.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/1/-they-are-wrong-marcos-disputes-inc-s-claim-of-selective-justice-in-his-administration-2048">‘They are wrong’: Marcos disputes INC claim of ‘selective justice’ in his administration </a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHAT MARCOLETA SAID</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Marcoleta previously admitted in a television interview that he did not disclose the contributions from Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray during the 2025 midterm elections because the donors wanted to remain anonymous.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1584554360044722%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>According to the complaint, Marcoleta received P30 million from Defensor, P25 million from Espiritu, and P20 million from Viray.</p><p>In his counter-affidavit, Marcoleta argued that the donations came from private individuals, not public funds, and that the corresponding donor&#x27;s taxes had been paid and accepted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.</p><p>He also argued that because the donations were made in January 2025, before the official campaign period, they were not required to be included in the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) he filed with the Commission on Elections.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xrv6aXQhKrU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Marcoleta further said the donation was not declared in his SALN because it had already been spent on election-related expenses and no longer formed part of his assets when he filed the declaration.</p><p>He also alleged that the case was part of a coordinated effort to prevent him from participating in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which is set to begin on July 6.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/1/palace-warns-iglesia-leaders-vs-destabilizers-1534">Palace warns Iglesia leaders vs &#x27;destabilizers&#x27; </a></div><p>The Ombudsman, however, maintained that the alleged campaign donations exceeded the nominal gifts public officials are allowed to receive and should have been declared in Marcoleta&#x27;s SALN, regardless if the funds had already been converted into other assets.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/30/ombudsman-marcoleta-himself-gave-evidence-for-plunder-raps-1555">Ombudsman: Marcoleta himself gave evidence for plunder raps </a></div><p>The Commission on Elections, in a March 18 en banc resolution, earlier cleared Marcoleta of election offenses but ordered the filing of complaints against his alleged campaign contributors.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘ABUSE’</strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>In a statement, the senator’s son Sagip party-list Rep. Paolo Henry Marcoleta said the plunder case “is structurally defective, legally incompatible, and politically suspect.”</p><p>“It attempts to convert documented private donations into plunder and indirect bribery without alleging the essential fact that the law requires a nexus between the donations and the functions of a public office,” he said. </p><p>He claimed his father’s legal woes were meant “to politically silence” him.</p><p>“The timing, framing, and legal theory of the complaint strongly bear the marks of a political effort to chill dissent, weaken legislative oversight, and silence a senator who has been unafraid to ask difficult questions,” Rep. Marcoleta said. </p><p>“That is not accountability. That is abuse.” </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘UTANG NA LOOB’</strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>The Office of the Ombudsman said the case filing against Marcoleta was “not a decision made lightly or by choice.” </p><p>It pointed out that the lawmaker himself admitted that he received P75 million of campaign donations that he did not disclose in his SALN and campaign finance reports.  </p><p>“In one of his admissions, Sen. Marcoleta mentioned the term ‘utang na loob,’” the Ombudsman noted. </p><p>“We honor ‘utang na loob’ as one of our culture’s most beautiful values… But it has no place in public office,” it said. </p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0ZbXG_enUG8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7SA5qG8Eeos?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kAKhIsRJR2U?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Office of the Ombudsman has filed plunder charges against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan over his alleged non-disclosure of campaign contributions. </p>

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed plunder charges against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan over his alleged non-disclosure of campaign contributions.

Ombudsman files plunder case vs Marcoleta over alleged non-disclosure of campaign funds

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Ombudsman files plunder case vs Marcoleta over alleged non-disclosure of campaign funds

Kaxandra Salonga,

Jamaine Punzalan,

Daniza Fernandez,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 03, 2026 10:23 AM PHT

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Updated July 03, 2026 11:53 AM PHT

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Ombudsman

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