Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s televised admission that he received cash donations for his 2025 senatorial campaign could become the prosecution’s strongest weapon in the plunder case filed against him, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Saturday.
Lacson said the case may turn into what he called a “reverse trial,” where prosecutors may no longer need to do much because Marcoleta himself had placed the key evidence on record.
“REVERSE TRIAL: The prosecutor may just sit and watch with folded arms while the respondent argues against himself and the damning evidence that he himself presented in plain view of all the witnesses who watched his ‘admission against interest’ on national TV,” Lacson said in a post on X.
The senator said Marcoleta effectively made an “admission against interest” when he acknowledged on television that he received cash donations while still serving as a congressman, but did not declare them in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.
In a separate interview over DZMM, Lacson also rejected claims that the plunder case was a form of political harassment by the administration, saying the Ombudsman did not have to search for evidence because Marcoleta had allegedly supplied it himself.
“Ang panggigipit, pinagpilitan hanapan ng ebidensya para makasuhan. Ito nga sabi ni Ombudsman Remulla, hindi na kami kailangang maghanap. Siya na nagpresenta ng evidence… Anong magiging panggigipit kung yan ang inaakusa nila sa Ombudsman o gobyerno o kanino man? Di naghanap ng evidence ang Ombudsman eh. Nalaglag sa lap nila ang evidence. (At) meron silang responsibility o mandate, pag ganyan motu proprio. Nandiyan na lahat,” he said.
“Harassment is when one forcibly tries to find evidence against you. But as Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said, they did not need to find evidence because the evidence fell on their laps,” Lacson added.
On Friday, the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder charges against Marcoleta and three others over some ₱75 million in undeclared campaign contributions for his 2025 senatorial campaign.
Marcoleta was also charged with three counts of violating Presidential Decree 46, which prohibits public officers from accepting gifts while in office.
Also charged were former Rep. Michael Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.
Marcoleta declared a net worth of ₱51 million last year and reported spending ₱112 million for his election bid. He earlier admitted on television that he received the funds in three tranches in January 2025 from donors, but said he did not disclose them because the donors wanted to remain anonymous.
The senator argued that because he received the funds a month before the official campaign period started, the money became “personal funds.”
But Lacson said Marcoleta’s explanation did not erase the legal issue because he was a public official at the time as a representative of SAGIP party-list in the House of Representatives.
Lacson had earlier raised the issue in a privilege speech last March, saying Marcoleta’s own statement showed a clear admission against interest.
“I guess Senator Marcoleta and his legal team thought they were being smart by being technical about when these contributions were made. Pero ang nakakatawa Mr. President ay, wala nang mas lilinaw sa sariling pag-amin ni Senator Marcoleta – tumanggap sya ng pera para magkaroon sya ng utang na loob sa mga taong iyon – isang maliwanag na Admission against Interest, ang sabi nga ng mga abogado,” Lacson said at the time.
The case now places Marcoleta’s own public statements at the center of the legal battle, with Lacson saying the senator may have to argue against the very evidence he himself placed before the public.