MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman has moved to bar Senator Rodante Marcoleta from leaving the country after accusing him of unlawfully enriching himself through an alleged P75-million “unconscionable gift” from private individuals, amid a looming plunder and bribery investigation.
In a petition filed before the Sandiganbayan, Ombudsman prosecutors sought a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) against Marcoleta, former Anakalusugan party-list representative Mike Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Varias Espiritu and Aristotle Baluyut Viray as authorities pursue a preliminary investigation into alleged plunder, indirect bribery, and violations of laws prohibiting public officials from accepting gifts.
The Ombudsman alleged that Marcoleta publicly admitted receiving P75 million in campaign donations but supposedly failed to declare the amount in either his 2025 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) or his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) for the senatorial race.
“By accepting money from private individuals amounting to P75 million, he fell short of upholding the standard of responsibility and integrity,” the Ombudsman said in its filing.
Prosecutors further claimed that Marcoleta exploited his position as then-representative of the Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty (SAGIP) party-list to obtain undue advantage and enrich himself.
“By taking undue advantage of his official position as then representative of the Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty (SAGIP) party-list and the influence he wielded as a congressman, respondent Marcoleta unjustly enriched himself at the expense and prejudice of the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines,” the Ombudsman stated.
According to the anti-graft body, the alleged P75 million was received in three separate transactions in January 2025 — P30 million on Jan. 6, P25 million on Jan. 8, and P20 million on Jan. 9.
Prosecutors argued that the transactions showed a pattern intended to unlawfully enrich the senator and raised questions over the timing of donor’s tax payments, which were reportedly filed only in December 2025, months after the alleged transfers.
“Marcoleta never offered any explanation as to the purpose of such unconscionable gift given to him. Neither did he provide an explanation of any legitimate transaction that would justify the giving of such an excessive amount of money,” prosecutors added.
The Ombudsman maintained that the amount involved exceeded the threshold required for plunder cases and argued that all respondents could be held liable as co-conspirators.
It also cited the respondents’ alleged access to substantial financial resources in arguing that they posed a possible flight risk, prompting the request for a hold departure order.
“They have been made fully aware that criminal prosecution against them is not merely speculative, but already imminent at this point,” the Ombudsman said.
In a privilege speech Monday night, Marcoleta rejected the allegations and branded the complaint as politically motivated.
“The trumped-up charges filed against me and some of my friends are not merely legal accusations. They form part of a deeper and more nefarious design — to intimidate independent voices, to punish dissent, and to warn every senator that the price of asking hard questions could lead to personal damnation,” Marcoleta said.
“If the intention of these cases is to silence me, let me say this at the beginning: It has failed. I will not be silenced,” he added./PN
