Court suspends Marcoleta as senator over plunder raps
Senator Rodante Marcoleta was handed a 90-day preventive suspension by the Sandiganbayan Third Division for his pending plunder case related to his receipt of P75-million which allegedly remained undeclared in 2025.
In its resolution dated 19 October, the anti-graft court said that it considered the jurisprudence on preventive suspension as indicated in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Anti-Plunder Act.
It stated that there was no need for a pre-suspension hearing to issue such a resolution while noting that such a penalty was mandatory when the information that was filed was deemed valid.
“Considering that the Information has been determined to be valid, it becomes the ministerial duty of the Court to forthwith issue the order of preventive suspension. The Court has neither the discretion nor duty to determine whether or not a preventive suspension is required,” the court said.
The Third Division would also address allegations pertaining to the violation of Marcoleta’s “freedom of expression and political participation and equal protection of the laws” and the lack of jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan as the amounts concerned an election contribution.
As for the prior concern, the court expressed that such matters were better off threshed out throughout the course of the trial, stressing that its only duty at the early stage of the trial was to determine whether the Informations “would constitute the elements of the offense charged.”
When it came to issues on jurisdiction, the resolution stated that cases that are separately filed before the Commission on Elections and the Sandiganbayan “may proceed independently” from one another given the fact that both institutions handled distinct cases.
The resolution further said that the suspension of Marcoleta from his duties as senator does not affect the “functions of the Senate,” arguing that it could perform its task with its remaining members.
“The Senate, a collegial body composed of 24 Senators, can still perform its functions even during the preventive suspension of a member,” it stated.
Prosecutors charged the senator with plunder and three separate counts for violation of Presidential Decree No. 46 (anti-gift giving law) for his receipt of P75-million in alleged campaign donations from three separate donors.
His donors, former congressman Mike Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Artistotle Viray, were also charged as Marcoleta’s conspirators before the anti-graft court.
Last 12 October, Ombudsman prosecutors rested their case for the plunder charge after presenting seven witnesses through the bail hearings and the trial proper combined.
Marcoleta’s lawyers are set to begin their presentation of evidence this coming Thursday, 22 October.
In a recent press conference, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that Marcoleta’s case could be “record-breaking,” pointing out how it could be resolved in less than a year.