Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday cried foul over the plunder charges being prepared against him by the Ombudsman, calling it a “calculated” move designed to shield the real perpetrator behind the alleged corruption scheme in the government.

Marcoleta reacted a day after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced the non-bailable case was up for filing in the Sandiganbayan this week.

The lawmaker slammed the move as selective prosecution, citing the Ombudsman’s lack of urgency to prosecute former House speaker Martin Romualdez even as Remulla announced the possible filing of plunder charges against him last April.

He also pointed to the Ombudsman’s plan to turn former Department Of Public Works And Highways (DPWH )secretary Manuel Bonoan into a state witness in the flood control probe despite his alleged involvement in the kickback scheme and his having been charged in a P573-million plunder case.

“So as you can see, we have no one on our side. If they arrest me, that (flood control investigation) will no longer push through. They [want] to bury it in oblivion,” Marcoleta said in Filipino in a video statement posted on his Facebook page.

In addition, he maintained that the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte may be a contributing factor for his looming arrest, claiming that it was a veiled bid to scale back the participation of senators allied with Duterte.

Marcoleta averred that although Remulla’s announcement did not come as a surprise, it suggested the move was a sweeping, well-coordinated political attack against the opposition, who are vocal about the alleged involvement of lawmakers allied with the administration.

He cited Senator Panfilo Lacson’s earlier remarks that at least nine senators were likely to face arrest over the flood control scandal, saying, “As if he already knew what would happen.”

Lacson, in response, dismissed Marcoleta’s claim as mere “gaslighting.” He said his statement was merely a repeat of Remulla’s earlier pronouncement.

Lacson also maintained that his remarks were based purely on the numbers, saying that if several senators were arrested, it could affect the voting in the impeachment trial.

“The mention of nine senators being possibly incarcerated was a hypothetical statement in the context of determining the base number to compute the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds vote of all senators actively participating or not in the impeachment trial,” Lacson explained.

Marcoleta and Lacson have traded barbs over several key issues, including the flood control anomalies and the contested West Philippine Sea.

The looming plunder charges against Marcoleta pertain to his acceptance of campaign donations amounting to P75 million during his run for the Senate in the 2025 elections.

The Ombudsman also took issue with Marcoleta’s non-disclosure of the campaign donations in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.

The donations came from former Representative Mike Defensor (P30 million), Joseph Espiritu (P25 million), and Aristotle Viray (P20 million) who were also named respondents in the impending complaint.