The Sandiganbayan Third Division has formally scheduled the hearing dates for the motion on preventive suspension and petition for bail filed by Senator Rodante Marcoleta in connection with his pending plunder charge.
During Friday’s pretrial proceedings, Third Division Chairperson Associate Justice Karl Miranda announced that the hearing concerning Marcoleta’s preventive suspension is tentatively slated for August 18, while the preliminary hearing on his bail request will take place on September 3.
The development follows an earlier order from the anti-graft court directing Marcoleta to show cause why he should not be suspended from office while the case is ongoing.
Justice Miranda also instructed the prosecution panel to submit its formal response to Marcoleta’s manifestation requesting a delay in any suspension order, noting that the defense raised critical legal matters that require judicial resolution.
Marcoleta faces non-bailable plunder charges alongside former Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Mike Defensor and business figures Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray. Prosecutors allege that Marcoleta failed to declare a P75-million campaign contribution in his official financial statements during his tenure as a party-list lawmaker.
In a move aimed at streamlining the legal process, Marcoleta formally stipulated during the pretrial that he occupied a public office during the period of the alleged offense—a key statutory element of the crime of plunder.
Justice Miranda noted that the admission would help render the legal proceedings “faster and simpler.”