MANILA — Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced that state prosecutors have concluded presenting their evidence against Senator Rodante Marcoleta in his plunder case on the very first day of trial before the Sandiganbayan.
The swift presentation covered all evidence for the plunder and Presidential Decree 46 violations filed against Marcoleta, coming just over three months after the case was officially lodged on July 3.
Marcoleta faces charges alongside co-accused former Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.
Remulla noted that this marked the fastest case development in the history of the Office of the Ombudsman.
“We rested our case; we presented our evidence. Ang ibig sabihin niyan, is that, if it took us three months, two or months or three months to present our case, he would have to do the same,” Remulla said.
The legal action originated from Marcoleta’s prior admission that he accepted a ₱75 million campaign donation from his co-accused while serving as a House lawmaker, which was allegedly omitted from his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).
“Ang lumalabas kasi sa case ni Senator Marcoleta is actually purely a legal question. Yung nangyari, everything is admitted, so there is only one question, whether or not he committed plunder. And that’s what we presented before the court,” Remulla explained.
According to the Ombudsman, the proceedings moved rapidly because Marcoleta’s request for bail forced the prosecution to lay out all their evidence immediately, noting that the defendant “brought it upon himself to make us do it also if you think about it.”
With most core facts uncontested, the prosecution bypassed presenting witnesses for Marcoleta’s co-accused and now anticipates a similarly expedited defense presentation.
“We might be breaking records here, especially if the Sandiganbayan will really do its job, in less than one year pwedeng matapos ang isang kaso,” Remulla added.