The Office of the Ombudsman has formally requested the Sandiganbayan to issue a Precautionary Hold Departure Order (PHDO) against Senator Rodante Marcoleta, former Representative Mike Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.
The anti-graft body filed a verified ex parte application before the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division on Monday, May 25, seeking to bar the four individuals from leaving the country. The request stems from allegations of plunder, indirect bribery, and violations of Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officials from accepting gifts from private parties.
The case centers on ₱75 million in campaign donations that Marcoleta allegedly received in January 2025—funds that were reportedly not declared in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) or his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN). Investigators allege that Defensor contributed ₱30 million, while Espiritu and Viray donated ₱25 million and ₱20 million, respectively.
The anti-graft court is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the PHDO application this Tuesday.
Addressing the accusations in a privilege speech, Senator Marcoleta maintained his innocence and characterized the charges as a political maneuver.
”Let me state the legal defenses plainly on the allegations against me: The law did not define the limits of liberality among friends. They did not say that friendship must stop at a number chosen by one’s accusers. They did not say that generosity becomes criminal merely because the amount is substantial. What the law forbids is not liberality; it forbids corruption. What it condemns is not friendship; it condemns the sale of public duty,” Marcoleta stated.
While the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) had previously cleared the Senator of election offenses regarding the non-disclosure of the donations, the Ombudsman’s investigation asserts that the aggregate amount surpasses the ₱50-million threshold required for plunder charges.