Marcoleta arraignment deferred, co-accused plead not guilty to plunder

The Sandiganbayan Third Division decided to defer the arraignment of Senator Rodante Marcoleta concerning his cases of plunder and alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 in consideration of his motion to quash that has yet to be resolved.

During the same hearing, Marcoleta’s co-accused in former congressman Mike Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray entered pleadings of not guilty to the crime of plunder.

To recall, the case against the accused stemmed from the receipt of the senator of P75-million prior to the 2025 national elections with Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray later being identified as his donors for the amount.

The issue was first investigated under the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) which deemed that Marcoleta could not be charged for an electoral offense as he had yet to declare for candidacy in the aforementioned elections.

As for the Office of the Ombudsman, it was deemed that the exchange violated a guideline under the anti-plunder law which prevented the providing of gifts and receipt thereof of public officials particularly if the amount exceeds a threshold of P50-million.

On top of the plunder charge, the individuals were also docketed separate cases in connection to the supposed violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 which enforces a similar gift-giving prohibition to public officers in an effort to prevent graft and corruption.

Given the postponement of the arraignment, Associate Justice Karl Miranda said while giving the order before the court that the proceeding on the case of alleged gift-giving would be conducted on 22 July.

Notably, a petition for bail for plunder was also filed by Viray given that the law considers such offense as non-bailable.