THREE campaign donors of Senator Rodante Marcoleta are facing possible election offense cases after failing to report their contributions in the latter's successful senatorial bid in the May 2025 polls.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec), in a seven-page Minute Resolution, ordered its Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) to file complaints against Michael Tan Defensor, Joseph Varias Espiritu, and Aristotle Baluyut Viray, who donated a total of P75 million to the campaign.
"The Commission, after due deliberation, resolves for PFAD to file a complaint for election offense before the Law Department for the conduct of preliminary investigation against the three contributors... due to their failure to submit their respective individual Report of Contributions within 30 days after the elections," the Comelec said.
In its recommendation, the PFAD said the three contributors failed to submit the required documents.
"A check on our records will show that his contributors did not submit any report of contributions before this Office," the PFAD said.
The department added that the failure to submit is an election offense under the Omnibus Election Code (OEC).
"Submission of said report is mandatory. Failure to observe such legal obligation constitutes an election offense for which any contributor may be held liable," the PFAD said.
In his statement of contributions and expenditures (Soce), Senator Rodante Marcoleta reported P0 in contributions while spending P112,857,951.44.
Questions arose regarding the spending since his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth showed a net worth of P51.9 million.
The senator said friends donated funds but added he intentionally did not declare them to honor their requests for anonymity. This prompted the Comelec to order an investigation.
Regarding Marcoleta’s accountability, the Commission en banc ordered the termination of the probe into his alleged misdeclaration. The poll body junked the investigation for lack of cause to file an election offense case.
"The commission, after due deliberation, resolves to adopt the recommendations of the Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) to terminate the investigation as there being no other evidence to show that Respondent committed any election offense," the Comelec said.
In its recommendation, the PFAD noted Marcoleta failed to fully disclose contributions.
"This investigation has established the fact that respondent did not comply Section 109 of the Omnibus Election Code," the PFAD said.
The department pointed out that Republic Act (RA) 7166 no longer considers such a violation an election offense, contrary to OEC provisions.
"Due to the later law passed by the Congress, it is one of the sections in the OEC that a violation of which, will no longer constitute an election offense," the Comelec said. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)