Camille Naredo

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta during a scheduled hearing on the alleged flood control controversy on Thursday, June 4, 2026, featuring 18 ex-Marines as resource persons. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

The Cayetano bloc, led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, pushed through with its scheduled hearing on the alleged flood control controversy on Thursday, June 4, 2026, featuring 18 ex-Marines as resource persons. During the meeting, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Loren Legarda, and Representative Rodante Marcoleta questioned the legitimacy of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s election as Senate President Pro Tempore.
Members of the Senate minority—collectively known as the Solid Bloc-11—moved to elect Gatchalian as the new Senate President Pro Tempore after getting the required voting threshold, taking into account the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada last Monday and the fact that Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa is currently in hiding. The minority pushed through with the vote after members of the majority failed to attend the plenary session for three consecutive days. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

SENATE -CAYETANO BLOC- BLUE RIBBON

Kaxandra Salonga

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/178350294437320260604-senate-cayetano-bloc-blue-ribbon-marcoleta-MT4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Sen. Rodante Marcoleta during a scheduled hearing on the alleged flood control controversy on Thursday, June 4, 2026, featuring 18 ex-Marines as resource persons. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sen. Rodante Marcoleta during a scheduled hearing on the alleged flood control controversy on Thursday, June 4, 2026, featuring 18 ex-Marines as resource persons. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- The Sandiganbayan&#x27;s Sixth Division is seeking to consolidate the case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and businessman Joseph Espiritu for alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 with the plunder case pending before the court&#x27;s Third Division, subject to the latter&#x27;s acceptance.</p><p>In a resolution promulgated Wednesday, the Sixth Division ruled that the case it handles, which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts and private individuals from giving them, appears to have &quot;arisen from the same facts&quot; as the plunder case.</p><p>The court, chaired by Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez, added that both cases involve the same parties and will likely entail the presentation of the same witnesses and documentary evidence during trial.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/6/marcoleta-arrest-plunder-1023">READ: Marcoleta arrested for non-bailable plunder case</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/7/vp-duterte-visits-detained-sen-marcoleta-after-plunder-arrest-0915">READ: VP Duterte visits Sen. Marcoleta after plunder arrest</a></div><p>It emphasized that merging the cases would promote the speedy disposition of cases, serve the convenience of the parties and the interest of justice, and prevent conflicting rulings on the same set of facts.</p><p>According to the resolution, a violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 is &quot;necessarily included&quot; in the crime of plunder under Republic Act No. 7080, which recognizes a public official&#x27;s unlawful receipt of gifts or commissions by reason of office as one of the overt criminal acts that may be used to prove the accumulation of ill-gotten wealth.</p><p>&quot;When several Informations charging different offenses are filed, where only one should have been filed, because one or more offenses are included in another, the accused may not be punished separately for each of the crimes charged,&quot; the resolution read.</p><p>The court&#x27;s Third Division, chaired by Associate Justice Karl Miranda, has yet to act on the Sixth Division&#x27;s resolution.</p><p>Former lawmaker Mike Defensor also faces raps involving violation of PD 46 before the court’s Fourth Division, led by Associate Justice Michael Musingi.</p><p>The same case filed against businessman Aristotle Viray was raffled off to the First Division, headed by Associate Justice Maria Mendoza-Arcega. </p><p>Defensor, Espiritu and Viray are currently detained at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas following their arrest.</p><p>Meanwhile, Marcoleta is still undergoing medical examination at the PNP General Hospital, which declared that the senator is unfit for travel due to his fluctuating blood pressure and other health concerns.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/8/marcoleta-to-stay-at-pnp-hospital-due-to-mild-pneumonia-hypertension-1246">READ: Marcoleta has mild pneumonia, still unfit for transfer — PNP hospital</a></div>

<p>The Sandiganbayan's Sixth Division is seeking to consolidate the case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and businessman Joseph Espiritu for alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 with the plunder case pending before the court's Third Division, subject to the latter's acceptance.</p>

The Sandiganbayan's Sixth Division is seeking to consolidate the case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and businessman Joseph Espiritu for alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 with the plunder case pending before the court's Third Division, subject to the latter's acceptance.

Sandiganbayan 6th Division wants Marcoleta's case on receiving gifts consolidated with plunder

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Sandiganbayan 6th Division wants Marcoleta's case on receiving gifts consolidated with plunder

Kaxandra Salonga,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 08, 2026 05:31 PM PHT

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Updated July 08, 2026 07:25 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodante Marcoleta

Sandiganbayan

plunder

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