The Office of the Ombudsman has declared that a massive protest by thousands of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members along EDSA will not halt the looming non-bailable plunder indictment against Senator Rodante Marcoleta over ₱75 million in undeclared campaign contributions.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano emphasized that the anti-graft body remains committed to its duties regardless of the street demonstrations.
“Kung ang pinaglalaban po ng mga taga-INC ngayon sa EDSA ay transparency and accountability, ‘yun din ang pinaglalaban ng Office of the Ombudsman,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
“Is it our mandate to stop cases? Perhaps not,” he said.
“It is our mandate to investigate and prosecute cases, and once the evidence is there, and in this case, the evidence was amply supplied by the respondents themselves, our hands are quite tied here,” he added.
The Ombudsman’s firm stance follows a surprise rally staged by INC members at the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City, where protesters decried what they termed a “distortion of the law” aimed at Marcoleta.
The demonstration erupted just a day after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla revealed that his office is finalizing the criminal charges against the neophyte lawmaker for filing before the Sandiganbayan.
The plunder case stems from ₱75 million in campaign funds allegedly provided by former Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray. Under Republic Act No. 7080, the amount surpasses the ₱50 million minimum threshold required to charge a public official with the capital offense of plunder.
Marcoleta has hit back at the allegations, claiming the imminent arrest warrant is a politically motivated scheme intended to sideline him from the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
However, Clavano dismissed the lawmaker’s assertions as a boilerplate excuse typically used by officials under fire.
“Sa tingin ho namin dito, marami kasi kaming fina-file na kaso laban sa mga public officials at kadalasan ‘yan po talaga ang nagiging sagot nila na pine-persecute sila, na it’s about politics,” Clavano said.
“‘Yan po talaga ang fallback nila na depensa na ‘kami po ay pinupulitika dito’,” he added.