Rodante Marcoleta

Senator Rodante Marcoleta is currently the subject of a pending investigation regarding allegations of plunder, indirect bribery, and violations of Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts. The Office of the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Bureau recommended these charges on May 18, 2026, alleging that Marcoleta received P75 million in undeclared campaign donations from former lawmaker Mike Defensor, Joseph Varias Espiritu, and Aristotle Baluyut Viray in January 2025. On May 26, 2026, the Sandiganbayan issued a precautionary hold departure order against Marcoleta and his co-respondents to prevent them from leaving the country during the investigation. While the Commission on Elections previously investigated Marcoleta for failing to disclose these contributions, it cleared him of election offenses in March 2026, citing that the relevant provision of the Omnibus Election Code had been repealed. However, the Ombudsman maintains that these acts still warrant criminal and administrative liability due to alleged unjust enrichment and the failure to properly report assets in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. Marcoleta has characterized the accusations as a political effort to silence his independence. Separately, in May 2026, Senator Panfilo Lacson accused Marcoleta of receiving P500 million in project-linked allocables, an allegation based on notes left by a former Public Works undersecretary.