MANILA – Former Quezon City Rep. Mike Defensor and two businessmen charged alongside Sen. Rodante Marcoleta pleaded not guilty to a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan.

Businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray likewise entered not guilty pleas during the arraignment before the anti-graft court’s Third Division.

The court set the pretrial for the plunder case on Aug. 10 to allow the parties to stipulate facts, identify evidence and address other matters that could streamline the proceedings.

A separate arraignment for the charge of violating Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits the giving of gifts to government officials and employees, is scheduled on July 22.

As he was escorted into the courthouse by jail personnel, Defensor, who was wearing a yellow detainee uniform, shouted claims of persecution to reporters.

Aside from the plunder and graft charges, Defensor and members of his family also face human trafficking charges before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over the alleged operation of a brothel involving some underage sex workers.

Meanwhile, Marcoleta’s arraignment on the plunder charge was postponed pending the Sandiganbayan’s resolution of his motion to quash the information.

The Sandiganbayan Third Division also ordered his transfer to the Quezon City Jail while the non-bailable plunder case remains pending.

Marcoleta had earlier been confined at the Philippine National Police General Hospital after complaining of hypertension.

The commitment order was issued by Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Karl Miranda following the submission of a medical report by University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, who evaluated Marcoleta’s condition.

According to Legaspi, medical examinations showed that Marcoleta had recovered from pneumonia and no longer required hospitalization.

“The findings of the PNP General Hospital have improved already. His pneumonia has cleared up based on the X-ray. His hypertension is already controlled. He doesn’t need further confinement in the hospital. Senator Marcoleta is fit to attend court proceedings,” Legaspi told reporters.

He recommended, however, that Marcoleta be placed in isolation for one week at the Quezon City Jail to allow him to fully recover from the effects of pneumonia.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government, through the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, said it immediately implemented the commitment order and transferred Marcoleta to the Quezon City Jail at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Marcoleta, Defensor, Espiritu and Viray were arrested on July 8 after the Office of the Ombudsman filed charges stemming from Marcoleta’s admission that he received campaign contributions worth PHP30 million from Defensor, PHP25 million from Espiritu and PHP20 million from Viray on various dates in January 2025, months before the scheduled elections.

Marcoleta has denied any wrongdoing, while the Ombudsman alleged that he failed to declare the contributions in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures and in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.