MANILA, Philippines – Another division of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Senator Rodante Marcoleta and former congressman Mike Defensor for the bailable offense of receiving gifts as public officials.

The Sandiganbayan 4th Division issued on Wednesday, July 8, the warrants of arrest and hold departure orders against Marcoleta and Defensor for alleged violation of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 46.

PD No. 46 prohibits public officials from receiving gifts. 

The Sandiganbayan 4th Division, chaired by Associate Justice Frederick Musngi, set the bail at P30,000.

Earlier on Monday, July 6, the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division had already issued arrest warrants against Marcoleta, Defensor, and two more co-accused for their non-bailable plunder case.

Defensor is already detained at the Quezon City Jail-Male Dormitory, along with two more co-accused.

Marcoleta, meanwhile, remains in the custody of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) amid an ongoing medical examination. 

The anti-graft court’s 4th Division directed the sheriff to “serve the warrant of arrest issued in this case against accused Senator Marcoleta at his place of confinement and a commitment order directing the CIDG to temporarily hold said accused in their custody pending trial under further orders from the court.”

Marcoleta’s health

According to the PNP, Marcoleta was admitted to the PNP General Hospital after “experiencing chest pain and nape pain associated with ringing in the right ear.”

It noted that the senator has known medical conditions for more than a decade and has been taking prescribed maintenance medications.

“Based on the initial evaluation, the patient is conscious, responsive, and not in cardiorespiratory distress,” the police said. 

“He was admitted for further evaluation and diagnostic work-up, including the necessary laboratory examinations. The results of these tests are still pending,” it added.

Request for consolidation

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan 6th Division wants to consolidate the gift prohibition case it is handling with the plunder case in the 3rd Division. 

The accused in the case before the 6th Division were Marcoleta and businessman Joseph Varias Espiritu. 

In a resolution, Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez, chairperson of the 6th Division, said the alleged violation of PD No. 46 is merely a component of plunder. 

With the trial not yet starting, Fernandez wrote that the consolidation of the cases will “promote the speedy disposition of cases, serve the convenience of the parties and the interest of justice, and prevent conflicting rulings on the same set of facts.”

The request is still subject to the 3rd Division’s acceptance.

Another case of receiving gifts involving Marcoleta and businessman Aristotle Baluyut Viray was raffled to the Sandiganbayan 1st Division.

The Office of the Ombudsman, on July 3, filed the plunder case over questions on Marcoleta’s campaign donations.

Marcoleta did not disclose that he received P75 million in campaign donations in 2025. It was the total amount coming from Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray.

While it happened before the campaign period, Marcoleta was a sitting congressman at the time. 

The threshold for plunder is at least P50 million. – Rappler.com