Court issues arrest warrant, HDO vs Marcoleta, Defensor

The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division officially issued a warrant of arrest and a hold departure order against Senator Rodante Marcoleta and former congressman Michael Defensor over the alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46.

In the order dated 8 July, the anti-graft court said that it had found probable cause to charge both Marcoleta and Defensor with a violation of the above-mentioned crime based on the documents and records provided by the Office of the Ombudsman’s complaint.

It was also mentioned that the accused would have the ability to file for bail with an amount of P30,000 each upon receipt of the respective warrants.

The Fourth Division also acknowledged that Defensor was already detained at the New Quezon City Jail - Male Dormitory in Payatas based on a warrant and commitment order issued through the Sandiganbayan Third Division which handles their case of plunder.

Under Philippine law, the crime of plunder is a non-bailable offense.

The court further noted that it was aware that Marcoleta was currently confined at the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame being the primary respondent in the said plunder case as he was reportedly experiencing medical conditions such as pneumonia.

A hold departure order was likewise issued on both individuals, ordering the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to include the names of the accused in their Hold Departure List.

Any individual that is included in the said list would be prohibited from leaving the country through restricting their ability to travel to a foreign country.

Court moves to consolidate Espiritu, Marcoleta case

In a related development, the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division resolved to consolidate the cases it received against Marcoleta and businessman Joseph Espiritu with the Third Division viewing that the issue was accessory to the crime of plunder.

“Applying the foregoing to the present case, this Court is of the opinion that the charge of Violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 is merely a component of Plunder,” the resolution read.

“However since the present information…were raffled to different Divisions of the Sandiganbayan, the proper course of action is to consolidate the present case for Violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 with the case of Plunder for a joint trial,” it added.

It was also noted that the decision was not necessarily final, as the Sandiganbayan Third Division still had to accept the case under its jurisdiction.

Both cases were part of the complaints lodged by the Ombudsman concerning the P75-million campaign donations that Marcoleta received in 2025.

Though the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) had previously ruled that the case was not an electoral offense, the Ombudsman argued that the same constituted a crime as the senator received the amount while he was still a congressman at the House of Representatives.

Notably, it was later found that the amount was not declared on Marcoleta’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) for the said year.

Another respondent in the case in businessman Aristotle Viray was also seized by authorities on Tuesday, 7 July, and is currently detained in the same facility as Defensor.