By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Senator Rodante Marcoleta and former congressman Mike Defensor were ordered arrested anew after the Sandiganbayan found probable cause to try them for allegedly violating the country’s anti-graft law prohibiting public officials from receiving gifts, adding another criminal case to the charges they are already facing.
In a resolution dated July 8, the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division issued arrest warrants against Marcoleta and Defensor for alleged violations of Presidential Decree No. 46, which makes it unlawful for public officials and employees to accept gifts, favors, or other benefits from private individuals or fellow government officials, regardless of the occasion.
The court set bail at P30,000 each.
The charges arose from an independent review of a July 1, 2026 resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman, which found sufficient basis to prosecute the two over the alleged unlawful receipt of gifts.
The latest warrants, however, will not result in their immediate transfer or release, as both men remain under detention following the Sandiganbayan Third Division’s earlier order committing them to custody on a separate non-bailable plunder case.
The Fourth Division directed its sheriff to serve Defensor’s warrant and continued commitment order at the Quezon City Jail–Male Dormitory in Payatas. Marcoleta, meanwhile, will be served his warrant and temporary commitment order at the detention facility of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), where he is currently being held.
The illegal gifts case is distinct from the plunder charges filed against the two over the alleged concealment of P75 million in campaign contributions purportedly received during Marcoleta’s 2025 senatorial campaign.
The new case further intensifies the legal battle confronting the two former allies, who now face multiple criminal proceedings before the Sandiganbayan stemming from allegations linked to campaign funds and other purported financial irregularities. The plunder case remains pending before the court’s Third Division, while the unlawful receipt of gifts case will proceed separately before the Fourth Division.
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