Senator Rodante Marcoleta – Phot courtesy of Avito Dalan/Philippine News Agency.
Reacting to the filing of plunder case against him with former Anakalusugan party-list representative Michael ‘Mike’ Defensor and two others, Senator Rodante Marcoleta is claiming that the impending complaint was part of a coordinated effort to prevent him from participating in Vice President ‘Inday’ Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial set to begin on July 6.
In a press briefing, Marcoleta alleged that his possible arrest would prevent him from pursuing what he described as efforts to uncover the truth and hold certain individuals accountable.
According to a video posted on his Facebook page, the neophyte senator cited that “if they arrest (him), it will no longer push through and (. . .) will simply be buried and forgotten.”
“Ang isa pa pong inaasahan nila ay hindi na po ako makakasali doon sa impeachment proceedings na nakatakda pong magsimula sa susunod na linggo. Samakatuwid, dalawang ibon sa isang putok,” he noted.
A day after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla announced that plunder charges would be filed against him before the Sandiganbayan, Marcoleta hinted that the filing of charges had been planned in advance as he mentioned an earlier remark from Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson that several senators could face criminal charges in the coming days.
“So it’s very clear that this was planned. Two weeks before the Ombudsman made his announcement, Ping Lacson had already said that around nine more senators would end up in jail. It was as if he already knew what was going to happen,” he pointed out. .
The former Sagip party-list lawmaker likewise questioned Ombudsman Remulla’s impartiality, recalling an exchange during a Senate hearing in which, according to him, the Ombudsman agreed with the statement that “sometimes we have to bend the law.”
Regarding the plunder raps leveled against him, Marcoleta has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that the donations from Defensor and messrs. Joseph Espirutu and Aristotle Viray were private funds and had already been spent for election-related purposes before his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) was filed.