Office of the Ombudsman Luzon Field Investigation Director Atty. Maria Mananghaya-Henson testified before the Sandiganbayan Third Division in the bail hearing of Senator Rodante Marcoleta for the case of plunder on Thursday, 17 September.
Jerod Orcullo
One of the donors of Senator Rodante Marcoleta detailed in their counter-affidavit that the senator had allegedly “solicited” for campaign donations prior to the 2025 national elections, a witness said.
Atty. Maria Mananghaya-Henson, director of the Ombudsman’s Luzon Field Investigation Bureau, said the revelation came from the counter-affidavit that was submitted by businessman Aristotle Viray to their office during their preliminary investigation.
Viray was among the three donors that had donated a total amount of P75 million which included former congressman Mike Defensor and businessman Joseph Espirutu–all three of whom also figure in the case of plunder at the Sandiganbayan.
The issue on Marcoleta’s campaign funds was first made public during an online interview wherein the senator said that his friends had given him donations for the national elections but had asked to not be identified.
Honoring his donors’ single request, Marcoleta explained that he indicated in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) that he had P0 contributions as declaring an amount would force him to disclose names.
Notably, the same document had also indicated that the senator’s campaign expenditures were at P112.5 million. A figure that was nearly double his total net worth of P51.9 million in 2025.
The revelation prompted an investigation from the Commission on Elections which resolved that it had no jurisdiction on the matter as the donations were prior to the start of the campaign period and that Marcoleta had declared that the P75 million were personal funds.
Given the insistence of Marcoleta on dignifying the request of his donors, Mananghaya-Henson said that their investigations found that the senator “would be more bound to his donors than his obligation under the law.”
The field investigation director noted, however, that even with the lack of indication on the part of Marcoleta, the deed of donations and donors tax that were submitted by Defensor, Viray, and Espiritu all noted that the funds provided to the senator were in fact campaign donations.
Speaking on the documents that were crafted, Mananghaya-Henson stated that the deeds of donations were all notarized during the same day and same notary public in Pasig.
She would clarify, however, that their investigations were only based on the paperwork and that she could not comment on whether all three appeared at the notary public at the same exact time.
Aside from similar notarizations, another factor that Mananghaya-Henson pointed out was that the donor's taxes of both Defensor and Espiritu were processed by a certain “Ebenezer Santos” who was supposedly a member of Marcoleta’s staff.
