The Sandiganbayan has granted the request of the Office of the Ombudsman to issue precautionary hold departure orders (PHDOs) against Senator Rodante Marcoleta and his alleged campaign contributors as the anti-graft court conducts preliminary proceedings on the plunder case filed against them.

Aside from Marcoleta, former congressman Michael Tan Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray were included in the order over alleged contributions totaling P75 million to the senator.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Ombudsman investigators described the four respondents as “flight risks,” citing their financial capability to leave the country.

Investigators also pointed to Marcoleta’s alleged failure to disclose the supposed “gift” in his 2025 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), which they said showed a pattern of evading accountability.

Apart from plunder, investigators also recommended the filing of three counts of indirect bribery against the senator, arguing that the contributions stemmed from his position in government.

The case pursued by the Ombudsman stemmed from the same issue previously investigated by the Commission on Elections, which earlier ruled that Marcoleta did not commit any election offense.

It was also revealed during the hearing before the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division that the complaint originated from Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao, who filed the complaint on 24 November 2025.

‘Nothing but a silencing mechanism’

For his part, Marcoleta described the “trumped-up charges” filed against him as an attempt to silence critics of the administration.

He claimed the cases were linked to his criticisms of government agencies over the alleged multibillion-peso flood control scandal.

“If the intention of these cases is to silence me, let me say this at the very beginning — it has failed. I will not be silenced. I will answer this complaint in the proper forum, calmly, firmly, and with evidence,” Marcoleta said during his privilege speech at the Senate on Monday.

“Let us not pretend that this came in a vacuum. The pattern is too visible to ignore. First, remove the inconvenient voices from the inquiry. Then weaken those who refuse to conform. Then frighten others into silence and submission before the decisive constitutional battles begin,” he added.

Marcoleta also asserted that senators have a crucial role as senator-judges in the upcoming impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, stressing that their voices are important to ensure the process proceeds in accordance with the Constitution.

The senator added that political leanings should not prevail over constitutional duty in carrying out the impeachment process.