From endorsement to protest: Iglesia ni Cristo stands by Marcoleta

MANILA, Philippines — Thousands of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members gathered Tuesday near the People Power Monument in Quezon City to support Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, more than a year after the religious organization endorsed him in the 2025 senatorial elections.

Hours before the gathering, the INC released an official statement backing Marcoleta, who is set to face plunder and indirect bribery charges over alleged campaign donations totaling P75 million.

READ: TIMELINE: What led to Rodante Marcoleta’s plunder case

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The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) estimated that 10,000 rally participants had gathered along White Plains Avenue and near the Edsa People Power Monument as of 10 a.m. Many of those in attendance were seen wearing shirts from the INC’s National Rally for Peace in January 2025 and its Rally for Transparency and Accountability in November 2025.

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A simultaneous gathering was also held at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, where the Manila Police District estimated the crowd at about 400 as of Tuesday morning.

The gathering prompted the closure of portions of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) and nearby roads, including the Edsa Ortigas Service Road northbound, the Edsa Ortigas flyover in both directions and White Plains Avenue, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The agency also reported moderate to slow-moving traffic along parts of Edsa, with one lane occupied by rally participants’ vehicles.

LIVE UPDATES: Edsa rally on June 30, 2026

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MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III said organizers had not coordinated with the agency before the event.

“There is absolutely no coordination, and this rally has no permit,” Torre said in an interview with dzBB.

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READ: EDSA rally has no permit – MMDA GM Torre

Tuesday’s gathering came more than a year after the Iglesia ni Cristo endorsed Marcoleta during the 2025 elections and just hours after the church issued a statement expressing support for the senator as the Office of the Ombudsman moved to file charges against him.

A sought-after endorsement

For decades, the Iglesia ni Cristo has been a significant force in Philippine elections because of its practice of endorsing candidates and encouraging members to vote as a bloc.

Founded in 1914 by Felix Manalo, the church has consistently instructed its members to vote as one during elections, making its endorsement highly sought after by candidates across the political spectrum. The practice, commonly referred to as “command voting,” has contributed to the church’s reputation as an influential force in closely contested races.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2020 Census of Population and Housing, the INC had 2,806,524 members, or 2.6 percent of the country’s population.

Its largest concentrations are in Central Luzon, Calabarzon and the National Capital Region, where more than 1.5 million members reside. In an earlier INQUIRER.net analysis, these regions were identified as politically strategic because they are among the country’s most vote-rich areas.

Mahar Mangahas, chair emeritus of Social Weather Stations (SWS), previously said in a television interview that the church’s voting bloc has historically shown a high degree of unity.

“From experience, the Iglesia ni Cristo is really solid. By solid, I mean 80 percent — not 100, OK? That’s always been my impression. But there are only a few of them, around 5 percent of the voters are Iglesia ni Cristo members, so I haven’t seen that significantly change the standings so far,” he said.

Historical exit polls likewise show that while INC voting is not monolithic, it has remained largely cohesive. In the 2016 TV5-SWS Exit Poll, for example, 77.2 percent of self-identified INC voters supported then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte.

READ: The Iglesia ni Cristo vote: Decoding its impact on the 2025 senatorial race

Marcoleta was among the senatorial candidates endorsed by the Iglesia ni Cristo during the 2025 elections. He went on to place sixth in the senatorial race and win a seat in the Senate after years of serving in the House of Representatives.

An earlier INQUIRER.net analysis noted that he received some of his highest vote totals in areas with large INC populations, including the National Capital Region with 1,695,144 votes, Cebu with 932,329 votes and Davao del Sur with 761,926 votes. His vote counts in Cavite, where he received 526,558 votes, and Bulacan, where he received 440,779 votes, also corresponded with major INC strongholds.

However, Mangahas has pointed out that INC members represent only about 5 percent of the total voting population. This estimate suggests that while INC bloc voting can be influential, its reach is limited by its demographic size.

Given this, Marcoleta’s large vote tallies in key regions cannot be solely attributed to INC support. Instead, the bloc vote may have served as a supplementary boost in areas where his local campaigns or other endorsements were also strong.

READ: LIST: Magic 12 senators based on official nat’l certificate of canvass

For more than a year after the elections, Marcoleta remained publicly associated with the Iglesia ni Cristo — not only as one of its endorsed candidates, but also as one of its members.

From endorsement to public defense

More than a year after endorsing Marcoleta’s Senate bid, the Iglesia ni Cristo publicly defended the senator as he faced criminal charges before the Office of the Ombudsman.

In May, the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Bureau in Luzon recommended filing plunder and three counts of indirect bribery against Marcoleta and three other respondents over alleged campaign donations totaling P75 million received during his 2025 Senate campaign.

READ: Ombudsman flags Marcoleta for raps dropped by Comelec

According to the complaint-affidavit, former Quezon City Rep. Mike Defensor allegedly donated P30 million, while Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray allegedly contributed P25 million and P20 million, respectively.

Investigators said the alleged donations exceeded the P50-million threshold under the Anti-Plunder Law. They also recommended indirect bribery charges, alleging that the donations were accepted because of Marcoleta’s position or potential influence as a public official.

The complaint-affidavit also alleged that the P75 million was not reflected in Marcoleta’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) as of June 30, 2025. It noted that the senator declared P39.6 million in total assets acquired from 1992 to June 30, 2025.

Investigators likewise noted that Marcoleta declared “no cash or in-kind contributions” in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The complaint-affidavit also cited Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officials and employees from receiving gifts from private persons on any occasion.

READ: Plunder, bribery raps eyed vs Marcoleta over P75M campaign donation

The recommendation came after the Comelec had earlier terminated its motu proprio investigation into Marcoleta’s campaign finance disclosures, saying no election offense had been committed. The poll body said it had no plans to reopen the case but was prepared to assist the Ombudsman if requested.

On June 29, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the plunder case would be filed before the Sandiganbayan. He said the complaint against Marcoleta and his co-respondents involved a non-bailable offense.

READ: Ombudsman: Plunder raps to be filed vs Marcoleta in Sandiganbayan

An official statement of support

Hours before INC members gathered near the People Power Monument on Tuesday, the church released an official statement explaining why it was publicly supporting Marcoleta.

The statement opened by saying the Iglesia ni Cristo was not opposing the enforcement of the law.

“Hindi tutol ang Iglesia ni Cristo sa pagpapatupad ng batas. Pero tutol kami sa pagbaluktot sa batas, lalo na kung ang layunin ay para pagtakpan ang katiwalian.”

(The Iglesia ni Cristo is not opposed to the enforcement of the law. But we oppose the distortion of the law, especially if its purpose is to cover up corruption.)

The INC then referred to Marcoleta’s role in Senate investigations into alleged corruption, saying he had led efforts to investigate what it described as one of the biggest cases of plunder in the country’s history while serving as chairperson of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

The church also said Marcoleta continued pursuing those efforts even after changes in the committee’s leadership. It questioned why the senator was facing prosecution instead of those he had sought to expose.

“Ang ipinagtataka namin ay kung bakit siya, na nagsusulong sa pag-expose ng mga sangkot sa napakalaking pagnanakaw sa Pilipinas, ang kakasuhan at ipakukulong, sa halip na ang mga na-expose.”

(What we find puzzling is why he, who has been pushing to expose those involved in the massive theft in the Philippines, is the one being charged and jailed instead of those who were exposed.)

The statement also referred to the plunder charge that the Ombudsman said it would file before the Sandiganbayan.

“Ang ikinakaso kay Senator Marcoleta ay plunder, na isang non-bailable crime. Samakatuwid, ipakukulong siya at hindi puwedeng mag-piyansa hanggang hindi natatapos ang paglilitis sa kaniya.”

(The charge being filed against Sen. Marcoleta is plunder, which is a non-bailable offense. As a result, he would be detained and would not be allowed to post bail until his trial is completed.)

The church ended the statement by reaffirming its call for “transparency, accountability, justice and peace.”

READ: INC airs support for Marcoleta, hits ‘selective justice’

INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala echoed those points during NET25’s live coverage of Tuesday’s gathering.

“Senator Marcoleta led the investigation into what is believed to be one of the biggest cases of plunder in our nation’s history. What puzzles us is why he — the one pushing to expose those allegedly involved in this massive theft in the Philippines — is the one being charged and threatened with imprisonment, instead of those who were exposed,” Zabala said.

“The Iglesia ni Cristo supports what Senator Marcoleta stands for because it is also our position. We call for transparency, accountability, justice and peace. That is why we want those in authority to hear this: Even if they imprison Senator Marcoleta, we will not stop demanding justice for our fellow Filipinos who have been robbed,” he added.

Marcoleta disputes complaint

Marcoleta has denied the allegations against him and challenged the legal basis of the complaint. In his counter-affidavit, the senator described the plunder and indirect bribery complaint as “legally insufficient.”

“The Complaint-Affidavit is legally insufficient because it does not establish the elements of the offenses charged,” the counter-affidavit stated.

He also disputed the Ombudsman’s application of Republic Act No. 7080, or the Anti-Plunder Law.

“There is no question that the allegations in the Complaint-Affidavit do not constitute that I amassed, accumulated, or acquired ill-gotten wealth within the contemplation of the Plunder Law.”

READ: Plunder, bribery complaint ‘legally insufficient,’ says Marcoleta

Marcoleta maintained that the alleged donations were made before the official campaign period and therefore did not constitute ill-gotten wealth under the law.

In a video posted on Facebook on June 30, Marcoleta also questioned the timing of the impending case, alleging that it was intended to prevent him from participating in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“But if they arrest me, it will no longer push through. They think it will simply be buried and forgotten,” Marcoleta said.

“Ang isa pa pong inaasahan nila ay hindi na po ako makakasali doon sa impeachment proceedings na nakatakda pong magsimula sa susunod na linggo. Samakatuwid, dalawang ibon sa isang putok,” he added.

(Another thing they are expecting is that I will no longer be able to take part in the impeachment proceedings scheduled to begin next week. In other words, they are hitting two birds with one stone.)

Earlier, during a privilege speech in the Senate, Marcoleta also claimed that the charges were intended “to intimidate independent voices, to punish dissent.”

“If the intention of these cases is to silence me, let me say this at the very beginning: It has failed. I will not be silenced.”

READ: Ombudsman turns up heat on Marcoleta, Estrada, Villanueva

Palace rejects political motive

Malacañang, however, rejected Marcoleta’s assertion that the case was politically motivated.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Marcos administration had no role in the Ombudsman’s investigation, stressing that the anti-graft body is an independent constitutional office.

“The recommendation came from the Ombudsman itself. The Ombudsman is not part of the administration,” Castro said in an interview with DZMM.

“It is an independent body. It is independent to the point that the administration cannot simply give it orders, for example, regarding disciplinary action,” she added.

Castro also rejected claims that the complaint was intended to silence administration critics.

“Why do they keep saying they are being politically targeted just to silence them? The evidence did not come from the administration,” she said.

According to Castro, the complaint arose from Marcoleta’s own Statement of Contributions and Expenditures, his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, and the alleged discrepancies identified during the Ombudsman’s investigation.

READ: Palace denies political motive in plunder case vs Marcoleta, donors

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla likewise dismissed suggestions that politics influenced the case.

Speaking after confirming that the complaint would be filed before the Sandiganbayan, Remulla said he did not want to “get into the political mix,” adding that the case was supported by evidence gathered during the investigation.

“All of the evidence came from him, from what he said in his confession, in the Commission on Elections. These were not inventions. Even you know this; you watched all of his footage on NET25 and other stations,” Remulla told reporters.

READ: Marcoleta already ‘confessed’ on TV show, Remulla says of plunder raps

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In his NET25 show on Nov. 8, 2025, Marcoleta said in Filipino: “My friends really gave me contributions. Do you know what their only request was? Just one: ‘Please accept our help’ — I was a congressman then — ‘Cong, we believe you deserve to reach the Senate, please accept this amount.’ There were many of them. They had only one request of me: that I would not disclose their identities.” /dm