A Facebook page claims Sen. Rodante Marcoleta should not be jailed for plunder after the Commission on Elections cleared him of these charges. This needs context.
On June 30, the FB page posted that the government is “hell-bent” on throwing Marcoleta in jail despite being cleared by the Comelec.
A part of the post reads:
“It seems that they are hell-bent on putting Sen. Rodante Marcoleta behind bars. IPAPAKULONG. And later on to be SUSPENDED as a Senator. WALANG PONDO NG BAYAN na ninakaw si Sen. Marcoleta! The case involves a CAMPAIGN DONATION.CLEARED na sa COMELEC. And here comes the Ombudsman. Singled out si Sen. Marcoleta sa campaign funds?
(It seems that they are hell-bent on putting Sen. Rodante Marcoleta behind bars. IMPRISONMENT. And later on to be SUSPENDED as a Senator. NO PUBLIC FUNDS were stolen by Sen. Marcoleta! The case involves a CAMPAIGN DONATION. CLEARED by the COMELEC. And here comes the Ombudsman. Sen. Marcoleta singled out on campaign funds?)”
The commission dismissed the case filed as an election offense for Marcoleta’s failure to disclose the P75 million in campaign donations.
The Office of the Ombudsman, however, is pursuing a separate criminal complaint for plunder based on the same funds under Republic Act No. 7080. This law defines plunder as a series of acts by a public official to amass, accumulate or acquire ill-gotten wealth amounting to at least P50 million.
In a June 30 press conference, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said Marcoleta’s case fits this criterion.
“Umabot po ng P75 million ang kabuuan ng mga supposedly donations sa kaniya… Tatlo pong transaction iyon na nagbigay, at [aminado] naman po ‘yong mga donors na nagbigay naman din sila. And from the own admissions as well of Senator Marcoleta, tinanggap niya ‘yong P75 million.
(The total amount of the supposed donations reached P75 million. There were three transactions, and the donors themselves admitted that they made the contributions. Senator Marcoleta himself admitted that he accepted the P75 million).”
The Comelec and the Ombudsman exercise separate jurisdictions.
The Comelec prosecutes election offenses under Article 9C (6) of the 1987 Constitution. Meanwhile, the Office of the Ombudsman investigates and prosecutes offenses involving public officials under Article 11.
The false post surfaced after reports came out that the Ombudsman was preparing to file charges against Senator Marcoleta. On July 6, an arrest warrant was issued against the Senator who surrendered and said he will face the charges.
The post, published by Dare To Ask (September 15, 2024) has over 5,000 reactions and 610 shares as of writing. The page has over 258,000 followers.
