MANILA – Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said the plunder case filed against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta could result in a “reverse trial,” arguing that the respondent had already presented evidence against himself through his own public statements.

Lacson said Marcoleta made an “admission against interest” after acknowledging on national television that he received cash donations for his 2025 senatorial campaign while he was still serving as a congressman but did not declare the contributions in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).

“REVERSE TRIAL: The prosecutor may just sit and watch with folded arms while the respondent argues against himself and the damning evidence that he himself presented in plain view of all the witnesses who watched his ‘admission against interest’ on national TV,” Lacson said on X.

In an interview over DZMM, Lacson also dismissed allegations that the case was politically motivated or meant to harass Marcoleta, saying the evidence cited by the Office of the Ombudsman came from Marcoleta himself.

“Ang panggigipit, pinagpilitan hanapan ng ebidensya para makasuhan. Ito nga sabi ni Ombudsman Remulla, hindi na kami kailangang maghanap. Siya na nagpresenta ng evidence… Anong magiging panggigipit kung yan ang inaakusa nila sa Ombudsman o gobyerno o kanino man? Di naghanap ng evidence ang Ombudsman eh. Nalaglag sa lap nila ang evidence. (At) meron silang responsibility o mandate, pag ganyan motu proprio. Nandiyan na lahat (Harassment is when one forcibly tries to find evidence against you. But as Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said, they did not need to find evidence because the evidence fell on their laps),” he said.

On Friday, the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder charges against Marcoleta and three others over about P75 million in alleged undeclared campaign contributions for his 2025 senatorial bid.

Marcoleta also faces three counts of violating Presidential Decree 46, which prohibits public officials from accepting gifts while in office. Also charged were former Rep. Michael Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.

According to the information released, Marcoleta declared a net worth of P51 million last year and reported spending P112 million during his election campaign. He previously admitted on television that he received the funds from donors in three tranches in January 2025 but did not include them in his disclosures because the donors wanted to remain anonymous.

Marcoleta argued that the funds became “personal funds” because they were received before the official campaign period. However, Lacson maintained that Marcoleta was still a public official at the time, serving as the representative of the SAGIP party-list, and that his statements constituted an admission against interest.

Lacson earlier raised the issue in a privilege speech delivered in March.

“I guess Senator Marcoleta and his legal team thought they were being smart by being technical about when these contributions were made. Pero ang nakakatawa Mr. President ay, wala nang mas lilinaw sa sariling pag-amin ni Senator Marcoleta – tumanggap sya ng pera para magkaroon sya ng utang na loob sa mga taong iyon – isang maliwanag na Admission against Interest, ang sabi nga ng mga abogado (I guess Marcoleta and his legal team thought they were being smart by being technical about when these contributions were made. But the funny thing is that he admitted receiving contributions so he would have a debt of gratitude to the contributors. This is a clear admission against interest, as lawyers say),” Lacson had said in a privilege speech last March.