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Senator Rodante Marcoleta (Courtesy: Senate of the Philippines)
Non-bailable plunder raps will be filed this week against Senator Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan over undeclared campaign contributions worth around P75 million during the 2025 elections, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Monday.
Aside from Marcoleta, Remulla said the case will also cover former congressman Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Varias Espiritu and Aristotle Baluyut Viray.
“(The case against) Senator Marcoleta, it’s for resolution. We’re about to file it already,” he said in a press conference Monday.
Remulla said based on the findings of the Ombudsman Field Investigation Bureau, the alleged campaign contributions included P30 million from Defensor, P25 million from Espiritu, and P20 million from Viray.
The Office of the Ombudsman said the alleged donations were not declared in Marcoleta’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
In an earlier interview, Marcoleta acknowledged receiving the donations but maintained the cases filed against him were politically motivated and intended to intimidate government critics.
He added he did not disclose the campaign contributions from his friends during the 2025 polls because they wanted to remain anonymous.
Two weeks ago, Marcoleta said he expects to be arrested for a plunder and indirect bribery charge even as the Sandiganbayan denied having issued an arrest warrant against the minority lawmaker.
“I am not aware of having violated any law. The cases they have filed against me are all fabricated…the allegations are simply made up. They have nothing to do with public funds. I did not steal anything,” he said.
“So that is what they are holding against me—private funds that were given to me as assistance. How did those become public funds? How could that be considered plunder?” Marcoleta added.
Meanwhile, Remulla also disclosed the complaint involving Senator Joel Villanueva in connection with alleged anomalies in flood control projects in Bulacan is now for full preliminary investigation.
Remulla said his office did not adopt the findings submitted by the Department of Justice on the case involving Villanueva due to deficiencies in the case build-up conducted.
“We did not accept the findings of the DOJ because we were lacking in the case build-up made by the DOJ, so we had to conduct our own,” Remulla said.
Former Department of Public Works and Highways Bulacan First District engineer Henry Alcantara earlier accused Villanueva of receiving P150 million in kickback for an infrastructure project in his province.
Villanueva has squarely denied the allegations.
“I never had any flood control project…I will never betray my principle,” the senator said. — Rex Espiritu
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