MARCOLETA PLUNDER CASE COULD LEAD TO A ’REVERSE TRIAL’ — LACSON

THE plunder case filed against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta could turn into a “reverse trial” with prosecutors merely sitting back while the respondent argues against the evidence that he himself placed on record, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Saturday.

Lacson noted that Marcoleta effectively made an “admission against interest” on television by acknowledging that he received cash donations for his senatorial campaign while serving as a congressman, yet failed to disclose them in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).

“REVERSE TRIAL: The prosecutor may just sit and watch with folded arms while the respondent argues against himself and the damning evidence that he himself presented in plain view of all the witnesses who watched his ‘admission against interest’ on national TV,” Lacson said on X.

In an interview on DZMM, Lacson also rejected claims that the charge against Marcoleta was a form of harassment by the administration, saying Marcoleta himself supplied the evidence.

“Ang panggigipit, pinagpilitan hanapan ng ebidensya para makasuhan. Ito nga sabi ni Ombudsman Remulla, hindi na kami kailangang maghanap. Siya na  nagpresenta ng evidence… Anong magiging panggigipit kung yan ang inaakusa nila sa Ombudsman o gobyerno o kanino man? Di naghanap ng evidence ang Ombudsman eh. Nalaglag sa lap nila ang evidence. (At) meron silang responsibility o mandate, pag ganyan motu proprio. Nandiyan na lahat (Harassment is when one forcibly tries to find evidence against you. But as Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said, they did not need to find evidence because the evidence fell on their laps),” he said.

On Friday, the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder charges against Marcoleta and three others over some P75 million in undeclared campaign contributions for his 2025 senatorial campaign.

It also charged Marcoleta with three counts of violating Presidential Decree 46, which bars public officers from accepting gifts while in office. Also charged were ex-Rep. Michael Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.

Marcoleta declared a net worth of P51 million last year and reported spending P112 million for his election bid. He admitted on television that he received the funds in three tranches in January 2025 from donors, but did not disclose them because they wanted to remain anonymous.

He argued that since he received the funds a month before the official campaign period started, they became “personal funds” – but Lacson pointed out that Marcoleta still violated the law and showed a clear admission against interest because he was a public official at the time – a representative of SAGIP party list in the House.

“I guess Senator Marcoleta and his legal team thought they were being smart by being technical about when these contributions were made. Pero ang nakakatawa Mr. President ay, wala nang mas lilinaw sa sariling pag-amin ni Senator Marcoleta – tumanggap sya ng pera para magkaroon sya ng utang na loob sa mga taong iyon – isang maliwanag na Admission against Interest, ang sabi nga ng mga abogado,” Lacson had said in a privilege speech last March.