By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has issued a fresh set of arrest warrants against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and former congressman Michael Defensor for allegedly violating a law that prohibits public officials from receiving gifts, adding another criminal case to the legal troubles already confronting the two.
In a resolution dated July 8, the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division found probable cause to charge Marcoleta and Defensor with violating Presidential Decree No. 46, which bans government officials from accepting gifts or favors connected with their office and penalizes private individuals who give them.
The anti-graft court set bail at P30,000 each.
However, the order will not result in their release, as both remain detained under separate non-bailable plunder charges pending before the Sandiganbayan Third Division.
The latest case stems from the alleged P30-million campaign contribution that Defensor supposedly gave to Marcoleta when the latter was still serving as a party-list representative.
Prosecutors alleged that the donation was never reflected in Marcoleta’s legally required campaign finance reports and Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), prompting criminal charges under the anti-graft decree.
In its ruling, the Fourth Division declared that the evidence presented by prosecutors was sufficient to establish probable cause for the issuance of arrest warrants against the accused.
The court also ordered its sheriffs to serve the warrants at the detention facilities where the two are currently being held and issued hold departure orders to prevent them from leaving the country while the case is pending.
Defensor is being held at the New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas, while Marcoleta remains under police custody at the Philippine National Police General Hospital, where he is undergoing medical treatment following his arrest in the separate plunder case.
Prosecutors further alleged that Marcoleta received a total of P75 million in campaign donations from several businessmen.
Businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray, identified by prosecutors as among the alleged donors, are likewise facing charges for violating Presidential Decree No. 46 before other divisions of the Sandiganbayan.
The new case comes just days before Marcoleta is scheduled to be arraigned on July 10 in the separate plunder case, further intensifying the legal proceedings against the senator and his co-accused.
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