(UPDATE) THE Office of the Ombudsman is set to file a plunder case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan over his failure to declare P75 million in campaign donations, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Monday.
“We’re about to file it already,” Remulla said, as he confirmed that former lawmaker Mike Defensor and others would be included.
On May 18, Ombudsman field investigators filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against four people. The investigators alleged in the complaint that Marcoleta’s acceptance of donations amounting to P75 million on three separate occasions when he was still a congressman constituted the crime of plunder.
“Aside from the lack of a clear purpose or pending transaction for which the amounts received may be a consideration, there is no showing that the gifts would still be given were it not for respondent’s position on government. Hence it cannot be denied that the P75 million was given by respondents Defensor, [Joseph] Espiritu, and [Aristotle] Viray by reason of respondent Marcoleta’s office,” the investigators said.
Aside from plunder, Marcoleta faces charges of indirect bribery and violations of Presidential Decree 46, which prohibits gift-giving to public officers.
Both Defensor and Marcoleta have denied the charges.
“There was no illegal act, no corrupt transaction, no favor sought, and absolutely no conspiracy to commit any crime,” Defensor said.
Marcoleta said in a post on Facebook that the complaint was “without evidence of public injury, official favor, corrupt consideration, or abuse of office.”
The investigators cited donor’s tax returns and deposit slips in saying that Marcoleta received P30 million on Jan. 6, 2025 from Defensor and P25 million on Jan. 8, 2025 from Espiritu. He then received P20 million on Jan. 9, 2025 from Viray.
The Sandiganbayan last month granted the Office of the Ombudsman’s request to issue a precautionary hold departure order against Marcoleta, Defensor, and businessmen Espiritu and Viray.
The Commission on Elections earlier investigated the campaign donations obtained by Marcoleta, which he failed to disclose in his statement of contributions and expenditures in January 2025. But the poll body cleared him of election violations, saying because the donations were received before the campaign period.
