Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Monday derided the plunder and indirect bribery charges filed against him by Ombudsman Boying Remulla as “trumped up,” claiming they were intended to silence critics of the Marcos administration amid alleged widespread corruption.
In a strongly worded privilege speech, Marcoleta asserted that the complaints formed part of a broader effort to intimidate public officials critical of the government into silence and submission.
“The trumped-up charges filed against me and some of my friends are not merely legal accusations. They form part of a deeper and more nefarious design: to intimidate independent voices, to punish dissent, and to warn every senator that the price of asking hard questions could lead to personal damnation,” he said.
The Office of the Ombudsman is seeking to indict Marcoleta on one count of plunder and three counts of indirect bribery over alleged campaign donations totaling P75 million that were supposedly used to support his Senate bid in the 2025 elections.
The anti-graft body also questioned Marcoleta’s alleged failure to disclose the donations in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.
Marcoleta earlier admitted withholding the identities of some campaign donors during the 2025 polls at their request for anonymity.
The Commission on Elections previously investigated the matter after flagging it as a possible election offense but later cleared the lawmaker in March, citing insufficient evidence.
According to the Ombudsman complaint filed last week, the total amount of donations exceeded the P50-million threshold required for plunder charges.
Graft investigators argued that “the acceptance of such manifestly excessive amount should not be normalized among public officers.”
They also maintained that the donations could not simply be treated as “an ordinary act of generosity but rather a corrupt act,” given the amount involved.
Aside from Marcoleta, the Ombudsman also recommended the filing of charges against alleged donors former representative Mike Defensor, Joseph Espiritu, and Aristotle Viray.
Based on the complaint, the three allegedly donated P30 million, P25 million, and P20 million, respectively.
Marcoleta, however, insisted the complaints were politically motivated, citing the timing of the filing ahead of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate impeachment court.
“The pattern is too visible to ignore… Mr. President, this is not merely about a complaint,” he said. “No one should be allowed to intimidate a senator-judge into silence. No one should be allowed to punish a member of this chamber for ensuring that impeachment must be governed by law, evidence, due process, and conscience.”
He also criticized the complaint for allegedly lacking evidence, saying it appeared to be driven by “pressure” and intended as a “warning shot” against those who refuse to yield.
“And if that warning was meant for me, then the answer is very clear: it failed. The complaint against me speaks… of suspicion. But suspicion is not evidence. Amount is not corruption. Political inconvenience is not probable cause. And accusation, no matter how loudly repeated, is not proof,” he added.
Despite the allegations, Marcoleta said he remains unfazed and would continue speaking out against what he described as corruption within the government.
“I will answer in the proper forum, with documents, with facts, and with the calm confidence of one who knows that accusation is not proof — that attacks couched in a legal veil do not constitute the truth,” he said.