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MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Rodante Marcoleta on Monday broke his silence after the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon’s field investigation bureau recommended plunder and indirect bribery complaints against him and his donors over alleged campaign donations worth P75 million.
According to the complaint, the campaign donation of three donors breached the P50 million threshold for plunder, and they also said the senator should also be charged for indirect bribery since he was given the amount “because of his position or potential influence as a public officer.”
“Let me state the legal defenses plainly on the allegations against me: The law did not define the limits of liberality among friends. They did not say that friendship must stop at a number chosen by one’s accusers. They did not say that generosity becomes criminal merely because the amount is substantial. What the law forbids is not liberality; it forbids corruption. What it condemns is not friendship; it condemns the sale of public duty. At least I stated the truth. At least I faced the issue. At least I did not hide behind silence,” Marcoleta said in his privilege speech during the Senate plenary session.
