EXCLUSIVE Published May 22, 2026 7:02pm + Add GMA on Google Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google. The Field Investigation Bureau of the Ombudsman has recommended the filing of plunder and bribery charges against Senator Rodante Marcoleta for receiving P75M in campaign donations in last year.In its complaint-affidavit signed on May 18, exclusively obtained by GMA News, the investigators want Marcoleta to be indicted for plunder alongside former Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Mike Defensor and two others who donated to Marcoleta.“…the undersigned investigators respectfully pray that the following respondents Rodante Dizon Marcoleta and private individuals Michael Tan Defensor, Joseph Varias Espiritu, and Aristotle Baluyut Viray be indicted for Plunder, as defined and penalized under Republic Act No. 7080, and for violation of Presidential Decree no. 46,” the complaint affidavit read.The investigators likewise want to indict Marcoleta for indirect bribery.The four were ordered to submit their counter-affidavits in the preliminary investigation being conducted now by the Ombudsman based on the order signed on May 21.The recommendation stemmed from a previous case last year at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) where Marcoleta was investigated for non-disclosure of the donation in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).The Comelec, however, did not recommend any charges against Marcoleta, saying that such non-disclosure is no longer considered an election offense under the amended Omnibus Election Code.But investigators at the Ombudsman said Marcoleta should still be held accountable.“While respondent Marcoleta’s failure to declare the donations/contributions from respondents Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray did not constitute any election offense, his acts … should nevertheless give rise to criminal and administrative liabilities,” the complaint-affidavit said.During the Comelec investigation, Marcoleta admitted to receiving three separate donations from Defensor, Espiritu and Baluyut in January 2025 totalling P75M.Defensor donated P30M, while Espiritu and Viray donated P25M and P20M, respectively, on three separate dates of January, 6, 8, and 9, 2026.“Respondent Marcoleta’s acceptance of gift with an aggregate amount of P75M on three separate occasions constitutes the crime of plunder,” the complaint-affidavit said.Defensor, Espiritu and Viray are considered co-conspirators.Ombudsman investigators said the P75M donation “can no longer be considered as an ordinary act of generosity but rather a corrupt act … the acceptance of such manifestly excessive amount should not be normalized among public officers,” the complaint-affidavit said.GMA News is still seeking reaction from Marcoleta, Espiritu and Baluyut.For his part, Defensor questioned the motive of the Ombudsman and maintained that the charges have no legs to stand on.“How can it be plunder? No gov’t funds were involved. Dapat ‘yung fina-filean ng plunder, ‘yung totoong nagnakaw sa flood control project,” he said.(How can it be plunder, no gov't funds were involved. Those involved in the flood control projects should be the ones facing plunder charges.) — RSJ, GMA News