The Sandiganbayan Third Division has scheduled the bail hearing of Senator Rodante Marcoleta and his three co-accused for 3 September in connection with the plunder case involving their alleged receipt of P75 million in campaign donations in 2025.

The development came after Marcoleta, former congressman Mike Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray separately petitioned the court for provisional liberty.

Associate Justice Karl Miranda issued the order during the pretrial hearing, noting that while plunder is generally non-bailable because of the gravity of the offense and the penalties it carries, the law provides exceptions under certain circumstances.

Miranda explained that when respondents filed petitions for bail, the court was obligated to conduct a bail hearing, where the prosecution had the burden to prove whether the guilt against a particular respondent was strong.

“The general rule is that all offenses are bailable; that is the general rule. The exception to the general rule is when the accused is charged with an offense punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment,” the justice explained.

“There is an exception to the exception: when the evidence of guilt is not strong, even if the accused is charged with an offense punishable by death, life imprisonment, or reclusion perpetua, they could still be granted bail,” he added.

With the first day of the bail hearings set, state prosecutors told the court they intended to present eight witnesses.

Motion to dismiss

In a related development, the court confirmed that Marcoleta’s camp filed separate motions to dismiss the case and withhold the issuance of a preventive suspension from his post as a sitting senator of the Philippines.

Preventive suspensions are automatically issued to any public officer who is charged with plunder at the anti-graft court in accordance with the Anti-Plunder Act.

Notably, Senator Jinggoy Estrada was handed a 90-day suspension which started on 22 June due to his pending plunder case over a supposed P573-million infrastructure kickback.

The court ordered prosecutors to submit their manifestations in response to the motions on Monday, 17 August.

Tensions with BJMP

After the trial concluded, while the accused officials were being escorted to their transport vehicle, tensions flared between Defensor and officials from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The former congressman claimed the BJMP had supposedly raided them twice. He, however, could not clarify which incident or where they were raided.

Asked whether a gag order had been issued to the respondents, the Third Division’s court clerk, Atty. Pulma told reporters that he was not aware of a suspension order.

Pulma clarified that detained individuals were only prohibited from disclosing details regarding the merits of their pending case.

The BJMP, meanwhile, has yet to release an official statement on the incident.