Senator Rodante Marcoleta and others are facing plunder case filed by the Ombudsman.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder case against Senator Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan on Friday, July 3.
On Friday morning, the Office of the Ombudsman has filed a plunder case against Senator Rodante Marcoleta and three of his co-accused over a ₱75 million campaign donations. Aside from plunder, Marcoleta is also charged with three counts of alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 (receiving gifts).
The other accused are:
- Former lawmaker Mike Defensor
- Joseph Varias Espiritu
- Aristotle Baluyut Viray
The plunder complaint was assigned to the 3rd Division, while the three counts of receiving gifts were raffled to the 1st, 4th, and 6th divisions. This was filed amid the days-long demonstrations in Metro Manila to protest his plunder investigation by the Iglesia ni Cristo’s (INC).
To recall, the protest was held after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced that his office will filed the case against the INC senator. It was an unauthorized rally of the INC in the Edsa Shrine in support of Marcoleta.
The rally was attended by thousands of people disrupting Metro Manila’s major thoroughfare. It started on Tuesday and lasted until Thursday.
Plunder is a non-bailable offense and carries a penalty of up to 40 years in prison.
Allegedly, Marcoleta received the ₱75 million campaign donations in three tranches during his time as SAGIP party-list’s representative in the House, and months before the official campaign period for the May 2025 elections started.
Defensor gave ₱30 million, Espiritu ₱25 million and Viray ₱20 million, based on donor’s tax returns and deposit slips cited in the complaint.
According to the complaint, Marcoleta failed to declare the alleged ₱75-million campaign donation in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) following the elections. The amount also did not appear in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
His SALN as of June 30, 2025, listed total assets of ₱39.6 million, while his December 2025 SALN declared ₱16.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The complaint argues that the alleged undeclared amount exceeds the ₱50-million threshold required for plunder under Republic Act No. 7080.
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