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

MANILA, Philippines — For Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta already “confessed” in his talk show, referring to the P75 million donation that is now the basis of the plunder and indirect bribery complaints filed against him.

On Monday, Marcoleta said the complaints filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against him and his alleged donors were made to “punish dissent.”

“I do not want to get into the political mix of it because his case is very clear,” Remulla said in a press conference on Tuesday.

READ: Sandiganbayan issues travel ban vs Marcoleta, 3 others 

“All of the evidence came from him, from what he said in his confession, in the Commission on Elections (Comelec), these were not inventions. Even you know this, you watched all of his footage on NET25 and other stations,” he told the media.

Marcoleta, in his show aired on NET25 on Nov. 8, 2025, said at that time 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 only had one request of me: that I would not disclose their identities.” 

Aside from Marcoleta, three of his donors — namely former Rep. Mike Defensor and a certain Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray — are also facing plunder and indirect bribery complaints, according to a complaint-affidavit by the field investigation bureau of the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon.

They also said that Presidential Decree No. 46, or the decree that prohibits public officials and employees from receiving gifts from private persons on any occasion, should be filed against Marcoleta.

In January 2025, Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray donated P30 million, P25 million, and P20 million for Marcoleta’s senatorial bid.

The complaint stated that this P75 million donation was not declared in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) in the Senate 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.

The complaint also noted that Marcoleta declared “no cash or in-kind contributions” in his statement of contributions and expenditures he submitted to the Comelec. /mr /atm