Senator Rodante Marcoleta has officially turned in his counter-affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman, addressing allegations that he failed to report ₱75 million in campaign donations within his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
The submission is part of an active Ombudsman probe following a recommendation from its Field Investigation Bureau-Luzon to indict the lawmaker for plunder and indirect bribery.
The Bureau claims Marcoleta hid political contributions received from former Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Mike Defensor, alongside businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.
Defensor verified that the senator met the Ombudsman’s deadline for submitting the legal defense.
“Yes, today may makuha na kami na received copy,” Defensor said in a message.
As the preliminary investigation continues, the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division has enforced a precautionary hold departure order, barring Marcoleta and his alleged financial backers from leaving the country.
Maria Melinda Mananghaya-Henson, director of the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Bureau-Luzon, noted that Marcoleta’s June 2025 SALN only declared total assets worth ₱51 million.
Mananghaya-Henson insisted that the ₱75 million in campaign donations should have been detailed in the senator’s financial disclosures, emphasizing that SALNs strictly mandate the reporting of all cash assets and bank deposits, regardless of whether they are subsequently spent or converted.
She further pointed out that accumulating ₱75 million solely through a lawmaker’s official salary would take roughly twenty years.
According to the bureau director, the senator’s failure to disclose the funds reflects a deliberate intent to mask irregularities and dodge accountability.
She also observed that Marcoleta’s verified position paper omitted any formal ties to the donors, who were fully aware that they were funding an active public servant.
The formal complaint asserts that Marcoleta accepted ₱30 million from Defensor, ₱25 million from Espiritu, and ₱20 million from Viray.
In a related development, a Commission on Elections (COMELEC) en banc resolution dated March 18 absolved Marcoleta of any election law violations. Instead, the poll body ordered that charges be pursued against the individual donors.
Despite the COMELEC’s decision, Mananghaya-Henson argued that the Ombudsman still possesses strong probable cause for criminal prosecution, given that Marcoleta was holding a seat in the House of Representatives when the transactions allegedly occurred.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano previously reiterated that the multi-million peso contributions far exceed the nominal, token gifts that public officials are legally permitted to accept during an election cycle.
The Office of the Ombudsman has not yet released its final resolution on the case.