Sen. Rodante Marcoleta pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to plunder and one of three charges under Presidential Decree No. 46 over ₱75 million in campaign contributions that Ombudsman prosecutors say he failed to declare.
Marcoleta entered his pleas before the Sandiganbayan Third Division after his lawyers withdrew their motion to quash the plunder case, allowing his arraignment to proceed.
Businessman Joseph Espiritu, one of the alleged donors and Marcoleta’s co-accused, also pleaded not guilty to violating PD 46. The law prohibits public officials from receiving gifts or benefits connected to their official duties and private individuals from giving them.
The cases stem from three cash contributions totaling ₱75 million that Marcoleta admitted receiving in January 2025 for his Senate campaign. Prosecutors said the funds were not reflected in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures or his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
The Ombudsman accused Marcoleta of accumulating ill-gotten wealth through the payments while he was serving as a SAGIP party-list representative. Former Quezon City Rep. Mike Defensor and businessmen Espiritu and Aristotle Viray were identified as the alleged donors.
Marcoleta faces three separate PD 46 charges corresponding to the payments. Only the case involving Espiritu is being heard with the plunder charge before the Third Division. The other gift cases are pending before separate Sandiganbayan divisions.
Defensor, Espiritu and Viray had earlier pleaded not guilty to plunder. The case will now move to pretrial, where both sides will identify their evidence, witnesses and disputed issues.
Marcoleta has denied wrongdoing and maintained that the ₱75 million consisted of lawful campaign contributions received before the official campaign period.
“I will not hide. I will face the law and the charges according to my understanding of the law,” Marcoleta told reporters after appearing before the court on July 6.
He remains detained at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas while the plunder case is pending.
