Comelec clears Marcoleta; ‘it defies logic,’ says poll watchdog
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday cleared Sen. Rodante Marcoleta of any violation of the Omnibus Election Code, saying his failure to disclose campaign contributions in the May 2025 elections in his statement of contributions and expenditures (Soce) was no longer an election offense.
However, three of the senator’s campaign donors—Michael Defensor, Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray—will be facing complaints for an election offense for failing to submit their individual report of contributions during the 30-day window allowed after the polls.
In a resolution released on Wednesday, the Comelec’s political finance and affairs department (PFAD) recommended the termination of its motu proprio investigation into the alleged violation committed by Marcoleta.
The PFAD, a unit headed by Director Efraim Bag-id, said it found no evidence showing that the senator committed any election offense.
The resolution was adopted by the Comelec en banc, composed of Chair George Erwin Garcia and Commissioners Aimee Ferolino, Rey Bulay, Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda, Nelson Celis, Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal, and Noli Pipo.
All commissioners had voted in favor of adopting the PFAD recommendations, except for Garcia who inhibited himself from the case.
‘Dangerous precedent’
Kontra Daya convener Danilo Arao said “it defies all logic” that the campaign donors will be held accountable for failing to disclose their contributions “but the one who benefited… would go scot-free.”
“Apparently, Marcoleta has provided the blueprint for the rich and the powerful on how they can manipulate their Soces. They can just simply declare zero donations as long as they instruct their donors to donate before the start of the campaign period,” he told the Inquirer.
“It sets a very dangerous precedent. It goes beyond Marcoleta right now and there is reason to worry because the 2028 polls are just around the corner and the rich and the powerful have now found a convenient loophole,” he added.
The PFAD opened an investigation after Marcoleta revealed in a NET25 interview last year that he did not disclose the campaign contributions in his Soce because the donors had asked to remain anonymous.
In his Soce, the senator declared zero contributions, but reported more than P112 million in campaign expenditures, an amount much higher than his declared net worth of P51.96 million in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth as of June 30, 2025.
Poll offense no more
After receiving a show cause order from the Comelec, Marcoleta confirmed to the body that he received P75 million in donations from three individuals. However, he claimed that the amount was given before the start of the official campaign period and was therefore not covered by the Soce.
But the PFAD said in its resolution that “all contributions used during the campaign period must be reported in the Soce.”
It noted that Section 109 of the Omnibus Election Code requires the “amount of contribution, the date of receipt, and the full name and exact address of the person from whom the contribution was received” to be included in the Soce.
Violation of Section 109 constitutes an election offense, which is punishable by up to six years of imprisonment, as well as disqualification from holding public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage, according to Section 262 of the election code.
However, the PFAD noted that the inclusion of Section 109 under Section 262 had already been repealed by Republic Act No. 7166, or “An Act Providing for Synchronized National and Local Elections and for Electoral Reforms.’’
For the department, it meant that a violation of Section 109 was no longer an election offense.
Section 39 of RA 7166 states that “the inclusion in Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code of the violations of Sections 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111 and 112 as among election offenses is also hereby repealed.”
‘Decriminalized’
On Wednesday, Garcia explained that Section 109 of the code is now “disregarded” because of RA 7166, hence means the act of violating it had been “decriminalized.”
“It is no longer a criminal case. That’s why, if a candidate, based on this law, Republic Act No. 7166, does not disclose what he should disclose as required by Section 109, he is no longer criminally liable,” he told reporters.
“A civil liability is possible. This usually means paying a fine, or it can be declared as if [the candidate] did not file a Soce. But in our laws, if you just don’t file a Soce, it is not a criminal case, it is administrative and they can pay a fine, [starting at] P5,000, sometimes P20,000, depending on the position,” he added.
Meanwhile, the PFAD said it will be filing complaints against Marcoleta’s donors before the Comelec’s law department after a check of their records showed that they did not submit a report of their contributions, as required under Section 99 of the election code.
‘Stop being legalistic’
Arao called on the Comelec to “stop being legalistic and start acting like an independent agency that is supposed to protect the integrity of the elections.”
Kontra Daya and the Advocates for Public Interest Law filed a complaint last year against Marcoleta with the Office of the Ombudsman.
They alleged that the senator committed perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code when he admitted receiving campaign donations yet declared zero contributions in his Soce.
Garcia said the Comelec’s law department received a referral from the Ombudsman regarding the complaint, but it had yet to issue its recommendations regarding the matter.
