MANILA, Philippines -- Sen. Rodante Marcoleta hinted that the "trumped-up" plunder charges against him involving alleged undeclared campaign donations were linked to the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman filed a complaint for plunder against Marcoleta, former representative Michael Defensor, and two others. The Ombudsman gave them 15 days to submit their counter-affidavits.
The probers said that Marcoleta's acceptance of gifts worth P75 million on three separate occasions when he was a member of the House of Representatives constitutes the crime of plunder.
"The trumped-up charges filed against me and some of my friends are not merely legal accusations," Marcoleta said on Monday in a privilege speech.
"Whether one favors or opposes any party in those [impeachment] proceedings -- that's not the point. The point is whether the Constitution shall speak above political convenience," he said.
The senator said he would perform his duty "with conscience, impartiality, and due regard for the record."
He also said the complaint against him was meant to silence him as he was vocal against the apparent failure of concerned agencies to run after the masterminds of the flood control budget mess.
"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," he said.
"If the intention of these cases is to silence me, let me say this at the very beginning: it has failed. I will not be silenced. I will answer this complaint in the proper forum, calmly, firmly, and with evidence," he said.
Marcoleta added, "Let us not pretend that this came in a vacuum. The pattern is too visible to ignore. First, remove the inconvenient voices from the inquiry. Then weaken those who refuse to conform. Then frighten others into silence and submission before the decisive constitutional battles begin."
"When this chamber is called upon to sit in impeachment proceedings, we are not merely politicians. We are senator-judges. We are bound to listen to weigh evidence, to apply Constitution, and to according to our conscience," he said.
The responsibility cannot be curtailed by fear, pressure, harassment, or manufactured accusation, Marcoleta said.
"No one should be allowed to intimidate a senator-judge into silence. No one should be allowed to punish a member of this chamber for ensuring that impeachment must be governed by law, by evidence, due process, and conscience," he said.
"Whether one favors or opposes any party in those proceedings - that's not the point. The point is whether the Constitution shall speak above political convenience. I will perform that duty," he said.
