Marcoleta’s arraignment for plunder set for July 10

MANILA, Philippines — The arraignment of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta for his plunder case has been set for July 10 at 8:30 a.m., the Sandiganbayan Third Division said on Monday.

Arraignment marks the formal start of the criminal trial proceedings, requiring the accused to appear in court where the charges against him will be read before being asked if the accused would enter a guilty or not guilty plea.

The plunder case of Marcoleta and three of his co-accused, former Rep. Mike Defensor and two private citizens, a certain Aristotle Viray and Joseph Espiritu, stemmed from the P75 million campaign donations the senator received while being a sitting party-list lawmaker.

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Associate Justice Karl Miranda, chair of anti-graft Third Division, issued the arrest warrant against the accused on Monday morning.

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READ: Sandiganbayan justice appeals for calm after Marcoleta’s arrest

Marcoleta was arrested but was hospitalized after he suffered from high blood pressure, and was expected to be discharged in two days, according to Interior chief Jonvic Remulla.

READ: Marcoleta complains of chest pain, taken to PNP hospital

Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray have since been arrested.

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READ: Mike Defensor arrested for plunder

Defensor and Espiritu were already transferred to the New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas, while Viray was only arrested on Monday night.

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Defensor allegedly donated P30 million, Viray P25 million, and Espiritu P20 million for Marcoleta’s senatorial bid in the 2025 elections.

According to his counter-affidavit, Marcoleta noted that the P75 million donation was not public funds, even though the donated funds exceeded the P50 million threshold for plunder under Republic Act (RA) 7080.

State prosecutors also noted that the amount was not reflected in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) as of June 30, 2025.

Instead, the complaint noted that Marcoleta only declared P39.6 million in his SALN, which he said he acquired from 1992 to June 30, 2025. In his December 2025 SALN, Marcoleta only declared cash and savings amounting to P16.7 million.

In his counter-affidavit, Marcoleta said that the donation was not reflected in his SALN because when it was prepared, “the amounts had already been used for their intended election-related purposes and were no longer assets held by me.”

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Marcoleta also said that he considered the money as an “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude) to his friends. /cb