Clavano: Private funds can still be used as basis for plunder case

MANILA, Philippines — Plunder cases could still be filed even if the amount in question came from private funds, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said on Tuesday.

Clavano made the pronouncement in response to Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s defense that a complaint against him over an undeclared P75-million donation for his senatorial campaign is “legally insufficient” since the amount did constitute public funds, despite state prosecutors saying that the donated funds exceeded the P50 million threshold for plunder under Republic Act (RA) 7080.

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

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He said it just happens that most plunder cases comprise public funds, but, “actually, and you will see it in the law, that even private funds can comprise the crime of plunder.”

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“Direct bribery coming from a private individual can also be considered corruption,” he said. “So when there’s a series or combination of that, it can be called plunder.”

Aside from plunder, Marcoleta and his campaign donors — former Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor and businessmen Aristotle Viray and Joseph Espiritu — also face a bribery complaint for donating P30 million, P25 million and P20 million, respectively.

“Public officials are not allowed to accept that kind of amount as a general rule, exception to the general rule is, if its campaign period and you are collecting money for the campaign,” Clavano said, “but in this case, he did not declare it to Soce (statement of contribution and expenditure), he did not declare it in SALN (statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth).”

“He just declared it in the public, the media, but actually, he should have put it either in his SALN or Soce,” he also said.

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Marcoleta, in his TV program, admitted his “friends” gave him campaign contributions, in condition that their identities would not be disclosed.

In his counter-affidavit, the senator explained that the P75 million donation in January 2025 was already spent during the campaign which is why he did not declare it to his SALN, while he said it was not reflected in his Soce submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) because the donation was made before the campaign period in February last year.

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The Comelec dismissed the election offense against Marcoleta, but the Office of the Ombudsman opened the probe against him.

On Monday, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the plunder case against Marcoleta and his co-accused could be filed in the Sandiganbayan this week.

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

To date, Clavano said the Ombudsman resolution ordering the criminal information to be filed in the Sandiganbayan has not yet been signed.

“As mentioned by the Ombudsman yesterday, the resolution is in its final stages already but he anticipates that the resolution may be signed and the information may be filed,” he said. “We don’t want to dictate upon the investigators and the panel as to when the Ombudsman gives them the prosecutorial independence to do that, but their last update to us is, [the case filing] is very very near already.”

In reaction to Remulla’s announcement, Marcoleta on Monday night maintains that the plunder complaint against him is politically motivated.

READ: Marcoleta: Plunder case meant to keep me off Duterte impeach trial

In response, Clavano said “the facts will speak for themselves.”

“When you read the case and you listen to the admissions and you listen to the interviews, you will see that the case is quite clear-cut,” Clavano said. “That’s why  it’s hard to see where Sen. Marcoleta is coming from because the evidence used by investigators came from him himself.” /das

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