MANILA – The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Monday ordered the arrest of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and three other respondents after the Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case over the alleged receipt of P75 million in undeclared campaign donations for his 2025 senatorial bid.

Also ordered arrested were former Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Varias Espiritu and Aristotle Baluyut Viray, who were identified in the complaint as Marcoleta’s alleged campaign donors.

The arrest order was issued three days after the Ombudsman formally filed the charges before the anti-graft court.

Plunder is a non-bailable offense, meaning Marcoleta and his co-accused must first obtain court approval through a petition for bail before they can be temporarily released.

Separate from the plunder complaint, Marcoleta also faces three counts of violating Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts or benefits in connection with their official functions. Defensor, Espiritu and Viray each face one count under the same law.

The Ombudsman said the case stemmed from Marcoleta’s own admission that he received campaign donations totaling P75 million from three individuals during the 2025 election campaign.

According to prosecutors, Defensor allegedly contributed P30 million, Viray P25 million and Espiritu P20 million. The donations were allegedly received on Jan. 6, Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, 2025.

The anti-graft body also alleged that donor’s taxes on the P75 million were paid only in December 2025, months after the transactions, which prosecutors argued was indicative of concealment.

The Ombudsman said the donations were likewise omitted from Marcoleta’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and his campaign finance reports.

“Today, we filed a plunder case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan. This was not a decision made lightly or by choice. The evidence includes three cash donations totaling P75 million, undeclared in the senator’s SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth) and campaign finance reports. This leaves our office no discretion to look away,” the Ombudsman said.

State prosecutors also noted that Marcoleta declared only P39.6 million in net worth in his SALN as of June 30, 2025, which he said he had accumulated from 1992 to that date.

The payment of donor’s taxes came after Marcoleta publicly explained why he reported zero campaign contributions in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.

“Utang na loob na, eh. Ngayon, dahil sa hindi ko puwedeng isiwalat ang kanilang identity, kaya sinabi ko zero in contribution,” Marcoleta said in November 2025.

The Ombudsman rejected that explanation, saying gratitude does not excuse the alleged non-disclosure of the funds.

“The moment gratitude is used to explain away P75 million in undisclosed money, it stops being ‘utang na loob’ and becomes exactly what our plunder and bribery laws were written to prevent,” the Ombudsman said.

In his counter-affidavit, Marcoleta argued that the donations cannot be considered public funds and therefore cannot constitute plunder, even if they exceeded the P50-million threshold under Republic Act No. 7080.

However, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano has maintained that public funds are not indispensable for a plunder charge under the circumstances alleged in the complaint.

Before the filing of the charges, Marcoleta claimed the case was politically motivated, alleging that government prosecutors were trying to silence critics of the administration, particularly amid congressional inquiries into alleged irregularities in flood control projects.

He also said the Ombudsman’s actions were intended to prevent him from participating in the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The Ombudsman, however, said it recognizes the public attention surrounding the case but stressed that the matter should ultimately be decided based on the law and the evidence.

Following reports that plunder charges would be filed, members of the Iglesia ni Cristo gathered at the EDSA People Power Monument to protest, causing heavy traffic along the northbound lanes of EDSA near the Ortigas flyover up to White Plains Avenue.

The religious organization later issued a statement expressing support for Marcoleta, who is a member of the church, while rejecting what it described as “selective justice” and the “distortion of law.”

Meanwhile, Defensor questioned the basis of the plunder charge, saying the allegations involve campaign donations rather than government funds.

“No favor was requested, promised, or given in exchange for any donation.”

Defensor also vowed to answer the charges in court and continue exposing alleged corruption involving flood control projects.